On The First Day Of Christmas
by SamanthaPlum
Summary: Babe. Stephanie decides to bring some Christmas cheer to both Rangeman and its owner, whether they want it or not. T for language - probably going to get bumped up to M later.
1. November 30th

**A/N: I own nothing; all credit goes to Janet Evanovich.**

**This is a Babe Christmas story, with a chapter a day. Hope you like it! - Samantha**

* * *

He should've known that she would take this seriously.

She asked months ago and she never did things halfway and this sort of thing was right up her alley and…and she was _Stephanie_.

He should've known.

She asked before Halloween, which should've been the first clue. Halloween was Steph's favorite holiday, far surpassing Thanksgiving and Christmas, regardless of how much food they had to offer. Yet she had come to him in the middle of October and asked if he would mind if she did a little office decorating for Christmas.

He didn't say yes right away, and even when he did, there were still stipulations. But she had begged and cajoled and when had he denied her something, anyway? So with a few rules ("guidelines," she would say), Stephanie was in control of office cheer at Rangeman Inc.

Even his rules were more lenient than he would have preferred. She had turned out to be one hell of a negotiator, despie his more intimidating tactics. He was only firm on a couple of things: no tinsel (Ella hated cleaning that up, he knew), everything had to be up to fire codes (he got an eye roll at that one, but with Steph, you can't be too careful), and nothing could detract from the workplace environment. He didn't want animatronic reindeer in every corner. He wanted it to still hold the illusion of being a professional building, regardless of if he was now being bossed around by a little waif of a Jersey girl.

He asked her why she was getting approval so early, and she had said she wanted to be sure she could budget it out. In retrospect, he felt a little bad about barking out a laugh.

"Babe, I'll _give_ you a budget. Rangeman does have money put aside for these sorts of things."

Her face clouded and her smile looked tense and forced.

"Like your entertainment budget?"

He knew he had stepped in it. Stephanie didn't let many things get under her skin, but he knew she had been carrying around a few comments he had made for years now. The "entertainment budget" comment that he had made as a teasing remark in regards to her years ago was one of them. He didn't know how to clarify it now, but he didn't want her to dwell over it any longer.

"It's not just an entertainment budget," he told her. "It's a 'morale' budget. It's a 'make my team happy' budget. It's a 'make _me_ happy' budget. Usually you accomplish this with very little money. I'm willing to give you more."

"How much more?"

And there it was. He could see the seriousness of the question behind her eyes. She wasn't just asking about a budget, she was asking about _them_. And he didn't know what to say. He wanted to give her _so much more_. Everything. He just didn't know how, not yet. She saw the desire written on his face, the longing. She reveled in it for a moment. He wasn't just lusting for her body, he was lusting for _her._

She took it in for another few moments before giving him an out. If he wasn't ready now, then maybe he would be by the end of December.

"I'll use that budget for the Christmas party!" She flashed him a huge grin before sidling away, leaving him standing there with his almost-smile in place. That woman.

And now, as he watched the monitors in his apartment's office, he was marveling at her all over again, not needing to shield his desire from the computer.

It was late – almost 10:30 – and she was downstairs on the fifth floor playing elf. It wasn't what he had expected, either. Instead of a large, ostentatious tree in the middle of the break room, there was a small two foot tall tree in the center of the large table, with tiny lights shining. No animatronic reindeer hiding anywhere, but instead, lining the tops of all the cubicles was garland and lights. It looked festive and elegant, all at the same time. She placed a ribbon around the plaque of Rangeman Inc's core values, and a few other bows adorned the walls. He hoped he wasn't imagining it, but it was looking pretty nice.

Just when he thought she was done, she went to her own cubicle (Ranger was trying desperately to keep track of her on all the varying monitor angles, so he never lost sight) and pulled a big plastic bag out. It was large, but clearly not heavy as she hoisted it on her shoulder and made it all the way down to the beginning edge of cubicles.

He watched her meticulously hang a stocking outside every Rangeman employee's cubicle and office. They all had writing on them and he had no doubt that she had handwritten their names on them as well. She came to his office finally – last, but not least – and he watched her carefully position an adhesive hook to the center of his door. His stocking looked to be a different shade of gray on the monitors, so he wondered what color his was, or if his camera's resolutions were just playing tricks on his eyes. She pulled out the traditional fare she had been placing in everyone's stockings (granola bars and Gatorade, as per his request that she not bring too much processed sugar into his company, regardless of the season) and then she held an envelope in her hands.

She looked at it for a moment before letting a small smile grace her face. Ranger felt himself smiling in return, just at the sight of her looking so happy and content. When no one could see him, he did become quite soft, he realized. Stephanie lifted the envelope to her lips and placed a light kiss on it, her eyes fluttering shut as she did, before tucking it into his stocking. She turned around, gathered up her supplies, and began to head out, a new bounce in her step.

He watched unrepentantly as she said goodbye to the guys on the monitors, who looked excited to check out their own stockings. He let out a little laugh when he saw her shake her head firmly and point at the monitors, as if to remind them of what their job really was. He didn't have the audio on, but he could still hear her lilting laughter in his head.

She took one last look at the floor before leaving, taking in all of her hard work. He glanced at the clock – almost midnight. Wow. She had been at it for a while. He was impressed, because it was mostly physical work. He had watched her for almost two hours crawl around on top of and under desks, plugging things in, positioning them just right. She was incredible.

He knew he was going to have to get up soon, and it was only that knowledge that kept him from going downstairs that instant and reading whatever note she had placed in his stocking. He could wait. He had the patience of a saint. He had outlasted terrorists and would-be bombers for days on end. He could manage to wait 5 hours before getting up and going to work. Maybe.

Tomorrow was December 1st, a Saturday. His last thoughts before he drifted off to sleep were that he hoped Stephanie would make an appearance in his life tomorrow, if not at the office, then somewhere else.


	2. December 1st

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews and follows! I hope you enjoy the next installment. Happy December, wherever you are! :)**

* * *

When Stephanie had asked Ranger a few months ago if she could decorate the office for Christmas, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She had a small idea in her head forming: some garland here, some lights there, a small tree would look adorable over there. But then, as it started getting closer and closer, it started to spiral out of control in her mind.

She knew she wanted to do something special for each and every guy. She knew not all of them celebrated Christmas – if not for religious reasons, then because they simply didn't have any family around to celebrate with – but she asked around to see if any of them would be opposed to getting a "holiday" treat. Even Bones, who was in the fairly small minority of Trenton, being Jewish, said that of course he wouldn't mind, and that it was more of a seasonal thing anyways. They didn't really believe Stephanie would start pushing little baby Jesus motifs on them.

So that turned into stockings. And then with stockings, you had to put something in them. And then it had to be somewhat personalized. And then it was early November, she had just spent over $500, and she was grinning like a mad woman in the middle of her living room, covered in glitter. She was starting to love Christmas.

She wasn't entirely sure when her brain decided to pull Ranger into it. Sure, he was part of the company and was going to get a stocking either way, but the past few months had been more Ranger-centric than she preferred. She found herself buying small things that she thought he'd find funny or appreciate, and then she got it into her mind to provide him with a type of advent calendar. A gift a day.

A gift from _her_ a day.

It became much harder after that. She started to read into things too much, or second guess her gifts, or feel selfish every time she came up with a gift that benefited her, not just him. But at the end of the day, she felt confident in her decision to bring him some Christmas cheer. He does so much for her on a daily basis; she would consider it a personal triumph if she could at least bring him a smile. And so what if he didn't use every gift she gave? Most of them were jokes, anyways. She could live with him not using every single one.

It was the day before Thanksgiving when she realized what she was doing. Or, rather, Lula realized.

"Girl, you tryin' to woo Batman!"

"Woo?" She had been half ignoring Lula all morning, but that did spark her attention, causing her to put down her magazine for a minute.

"Woo woo!" Lula mimicked a train, pulling on the horn.

"I don't think so."

"Oh, you are and you don' even know it!"

"How can I be trying to woo someone and not know it?" She paused, picking her magazine up again. "And I'm not trying to woo him."

"White girl, how long you and super cop been on the outs?"

The magazine was once again discarded after seeing how tenacious Lula was going to be.

"Um, I don't know. 6 months. Maybe 7?"

"And are you tryin' to be spendin' Christmas with him?"

"I think he has a _girlfriend_, Lula."

"And do you wanna spend Christmas with sex on legs?"

"I'll probably be spending my Christmas with my family. Just like he probably will."

"And if he don't?"

She paused. What if Ranger didn't have anyone to spend Christmas with? It wasn't really a topic that they had every covered before. Would he be all alone? Would he _want_ to spend Christmas with her?

She must have taken too long to answer because Lula swiftly took the forgotten magazine, rolled it up, and smacked her in the head with it.

"Hey!"

"Woo. You be tryin' to woo. Now let's take this biz a bit more seriously."

"We're friends, Lula. I'm trying to be a friend to him."

Lula took the list of gifts that she had compiled on the table and pointed to it. "This gift right here? Day number 9? That ain't no friend gift. That's a woo gift."

"Would you stop saying woo?" Steph snatched the list out of Lula's hands. "I just want to make him happy. That's what friends do."

"And if it makes you happy too? What's so bad about that?" Lula was uncharacteristically serious, sitting down in front of her.

"What if he's not ready?"

"Girl, Batman's been waitin' on you a long time. I think the more excitin' thing is you bein' ready. This is it. This is the big gesture!"

"The what?"

"The big gesture! That big thing that tells him that you's ready! That you's the one for him!" Lula held up the list of gifts again, laughing when she saw Steph flinch in anticipation of a smack across the back of her head with it. "Let's get to work, white girl. We's gonna make a Batman fall in love!"

* * *

Steph still wasn't sure if 'wooing' was the right word, but she did realize that a lot of her gifts were her sad attempts at doing just that. She revised a few other gifts with Lula's help to get Ranger to see that she was ready for a relationship with him, if he wanted one. It wasn't all serious and heavy – a few gifts were just to make him laugh – but she put a lot of time and effort into his gifts.

She was going to let him figure it out on his own. He could read as much or as little into them as he wanted to; she was going to just be there for him throughout it.

As she sat down to pen his first gift – a handwritten letter from her, thanking him – the enormity of what she was doing hit her. This was it. This was her making the 'big gesture.' And for once in her life, she wasn't nervous. Well, she was nervous, but she wasn't _terrified_. He could always reject her, always send her away, never to be seen again, but he had that power before. She was nervous as to how he would react, but it was somehow less scary now that it was her taking control.

She could do this.

She kissed the letter softly, sending with it all of her wishes and blind hopes that this wouldn't backfire in her face, and she slipped it into his stocking that hung on his office door. She _had_ to come into the office tomorrow now. She had no choice.

* * *

He woke up at 4:45. He smiled to himself at the fact that he was acting like a little boy on Christmas morning. Instead, he was a grown man, and it was a month away from Christmas. But still, there was a gift waiting for him downstairs.

Not happy with that comparison, as he moved around getting ready, he reminded himself of all the differences between him and little Carlos Manoso. When he was younger, he had to stay in his room until 7 on Christmas morning. His parents would prefer later, but he could make it to 7, usually. If he woke up earlier, he'd slip into his siblings' rooms. Celia would coddle him and bring him into bed with her, the only one old enough to know what was happening. He remembered once sneaking into Mateo's room, who was a few years younger, and waking him up so that they could be excited together. A few years after that and he was the one dragging Mateo into bed with him, promising him that the gifts would still be there after a bit more sleep.

He wasn't that little kid anymore – so much had changed. A part of him argued that he was an adult, he owned this company, and he didn't need anyone's permission. Hell, he could skip the gym entirely and go read the letter if he wanted to. But a smaller voice piped up and reminded him that no, he couldn't. He had responsibilities to himself and his company and his men to be in the best shape he could be in. Besides, he was actually a little nervous about reading the letter.

Not that he would ever admit that.

His Babe had been different lately. Not a bad different, but a good different. It was throwing him off. He was smiling more, less reserved, more flirtatious. He had no idea how to handle this new Stephanie. He knew she would object to ever being "handled" in the first place, but that was half the battle with Steph. You had to learn how to handle her without her knowing she was being handled.

He liked a challenge.

So he went about his morning routine as usual. If he ran a bit faster on the treadmill to meet his mile marker sooner, or if he thought he might have overdid his bench presses yesterday and decided it would be best to skip them today, well, he wasn't going to tell anyone. Besides, his doctor did warn about overdoing the exercise ever since his last bullet wound at the end of August. It was a through-and-through on his left shoulder, but it tore up his muscle pretty bad. He had yet to have a day where it wasn't at least a little bit uncomfortable, but he was working through it.

It was 7:30 when he made it to the fifth floor. It was already working its way to the normal bustle with a shift change at 7, and the lights glittering everywhere gave his employees a sense of excitement to get going on a Saturday morning.

He took the long route to his office, weaving in between cubicles and greeting his men as he took in the decorations. He could feel their stares on him as he passed; obviously they were all under the impression that he would be displeased by the Christmas cheer that perverted his once pristine office. Of course, that wasn't the case, but he was careful to keep his face blank as he took it all in.

It looked better than he could have imagined; the black and white monitors did not do it justice. The men's stockings were a bright red velvet with a black strap and buckle wrapped around the middle. She had written their names or nicknames in fancy script with some kind of glittery glue. He had forgot to mention to her to not bring in any loose glitter, but he was pleased to note that he didn't see any around. It looked fabulous.

Fake evergreen garland wound its way through the cubicles with the white lights sparkling. If he was being honest, it looked as if a professional had done it. He spied the small tree he saw her put up in the break room still sitting there serenely, on a bed of white cotton snow. He made his way to his own office and had to fight the laughter. His stocking was black. It was just like all his men's stockings, except _black_. The white fluff on top looked brighter somehow, and the strap around the middle was more of a charcoal gray, but it was _black_. How Steph-like. It didn't have his name on it, but he supposed that no one would confuse it with theirs. He wasn't worried.

He snagged his stocking off his door and called behind him without looking.

"Have Stephanie come see me when or if she comes in today."

It was ominous enough for the guys to worry, but he liked the idea of them being worried over something so trivial. Steph wouldn't have done all this without his permission, he knew. She respected him too much. He wished the guys could see that as well.

He closed the door and took the stocking to his desk. He continued his morning routine, eying the Christmas décor with a wary gaze. He was procrastinating and he knew it. After his computer had booted up, he had checked his emails, and couldn't wait any longer. He opened his stocking.

The envelope came out first, and he put it to the side. More procrastinating.

She had put a handful of miniature granola bars in the sack, even some that had candy cane. (Since it was a granola bar, he'd let the hard candy slip by.) Two small bottles of Gatorade and a pack of all natural energy gum. Where did she even find this stuff?

Finally, he could put it off no longer. He slid his envelope opener through the paper and the stationery slipped into his hands.

_Ranger,_

_ I'm not sure if you understand how hard it is for me to put my feelings into words but man. It's tough. Don't worry. This isn't a love letter, or a Dear John letter, or a letter of resignation. (Yeah right, like I would ever do that. Like you would ever _accept_ that.) Instead, this is a thank you letter._

_ Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being supportive of everything I do. Even if it's stupid. Thank you for letting me know the real you, and thank you for having such a great 'real you' inside the pretty awesome 'outside you.' Thanks for letting me decorate your office. You could've said no and I wouldn't have been angry, or upset, or even blamed you. You're taking a chance on this and I hope I don't let you down. I even have some ideas for next year! Thank you for trusting me. You know, I used to think you didn't trust me whenever you put a tracker on me or my vehicle. I'm starting to realize that it was less about trust, and more about safety than I ever considered. Thank you for keeping me safe._

_ Now don't be disappointed. This letter isn't your Christmas gift. I know that you would say that there is no price on what we give each other, and this isn't about monetary gifts. (But if I could buy you a new Porsche, I totally would. I still feel bad about that.) Christmas is the time of year that you can do things that maybe you couldn't otherwise. Like write sappy thank you letters. Or give your boss a black stocking and not worry about getting sent to a 3rd world country. Stuff like that._

_ Oh, and another thing I'm thankful to you for: thank you for staying alive. I was really scared a few months ago that you weren't coming back to me. Thank you for coming back._

_ I hope you like your stocking. Make sure you keep it on the outside of your door…you never know when you might get another gift. :) _

_ Love,_

_ Stephanie_

He put the letter down and let it seep in. She had said a lot in those few paragraphs – more than he expected. Even if she didn't say it in so many words, he got a lot between the lines. The fact that she mentioned his shooting a few months ago says a lot. She hadn't talked about it afterwards, but he heard she passed out (fainted?) at the hospital when the surgeon had come out covered in his blood. He had suffered worse injuries, but he had lost quite a bit of blood. She would usually take comfort in the fact that he was wearing his vest, but the FTAs he had been after – brothers, with a penchant for firearms – were equipped with armor piercing bullets, or cop killers. He didn't know who had told her that, but when she visited him in the hospital, she was a bit of a mess. That in itself was a worse experience than getting shot.

Her gratitude meant all the world to him. He had never thought her to be ungrateful for his help, but hearing it confirmed warmed a part of him he hadn't expected. The whole letter itself had evoked a lot of emotions he wasn't prepared with, but he knew that the next time he got her alone, he was going to demand one hell of a hug from her, as unmanly as that may be.

He slipped the letter back in the envelope and put it in his top drawer. He had a feeling he'd be looking at it a lot.

He immersed himself in work (after replacing the stocking on his door, of course) and had even enjoyed one of those candy cane granola bars. It was surprisingly good, and still fell within his strict dietary guidelines. He was impressed, yet again.

Hours had passed as he made final revisions to a contract when he heard some cheers and applause on the floor. He knew instinctively that Stephanie had arrived. He stood and made his way to his door and opened it, but before stepping out, he stopped to take in what was being said.

The noise filtered over to him slowly, but he could still make out quite a bit.

"How did you get the boss to go for it?" Vince was demanding over the lull.

"Yeah, what'd you give him in return, and can I get some too?" Lester, of course. He heard someone, he wasn't sure who, ask Lester if he was jealous.

"Lester's just jealous because Ranger's a badass and all he can be is a wiseass," Stephanie teased. He felt his heart speed up just a bit.

"Speaking of the boss, he wants to see you in his office," Binkie mentioned to Steph as one of the guys who was on monitors that morning. A chorus of "oooh's" broke out as they likened Steph seeing Ranger to going to the principal's office.

Ranger took that opportunity to step fully out of his office, quieting his men almost immediately.

"Babe."

She smacked Lester upside the head as she walked by as he was still murmuring "someone's getting in _trouble," _but made her way to Ranger calmly, trying to force any fear from her face. Was it too much? She had thought she had done a nice job, but maybe it was too overbearing for Ranger? She didn't even think he could smell the air freshener she had put in the break room from there – the fresh balsam wall plug-in was too fantastic to forego.

He held the door open for her and she was pleased to note the stocking still on his door. He clearly didn't hate it if he didn't remove it yet.

"Am I fired?" She asked sweetly, feeling more confident that she wasn't.

"This place looks like a professional came in," he commented.

"I _am_ a professional. Just not a professional decorator."

"It looks great," he said sincerely as he settled himself at his desk, motioning for her to do the same across from him. She took a seat gingerly, not used to seeing him from this angle. She didn't spend too much time sitting in front of him in his office.

"You sound surprised."

"Not surprised. I knew you'd do a great job or I wouldn't have agreed to this."

She believed him. Something about Ranger's mere presence demanded excellence from those around him. She wouldn't have even considered doing a subpar job.

"I _am_ surprised at some of the choices you made. I would've thought you were a ten foot tall tree type of girl."

"I almost put a really huge one in your lobby," she confessed conspiratorially. "You know, so it would look like one of those fancy hotels or businesses in New York? I almost did."

"Why didn't you?" He asked, genuinely curious. That wouldn't have violated any rules he had set down as far as he knew.

"Well, you had really only agreed to me doing the fifth floor. And the Christmas party."

"Babe, I wouldn't necessarily say I 'agreed' to the Christmas party."

She waved his concerns away. "I figured that you had never put something downstairs before so you probably didn't want to advertise your happiness to the outside world." She grinned unabashedly to take the sting out of the words, but he knew that she genuinely thought he didn't want people to see that Rangeman had a soft side.

"I wouldn't have been mad," he insisted softly. Again, she waved it off.

"I think the fifth floor looks pretty nice, don't you?"

"Looks beautiful, Babe. I noticed that you didn't touch the budget I gave you."

"I'll put it towards the party or something. We'll need food to be catered or something and I don't want Ella to be stuck making _all_ of it." Her words confirmed to Ranger that she hadn't even _looked_ to see how much money he had allocated her.

"Still, the decorations had to cost something." He wasn't comfortable with her paying for all of this out of pocket.

"I had most of it lying around at home. I usually go all out and decorate my place, but I figure I'm here more than I am at home. Besides, I like working in a cheery atmosphere!" She gave him the cheekiest grin he'd ever seen, drawing out one of his own.

"And the stockings? You just have them lying around, too?"

"Dollar Tree."

"The bows?"

"CVS."

"The air freshener you think I don't smell?"

Her eyes narrowed, but still, "Target."

He smiled at her, that big, beautiful grin that she felt like he saved just for her, and she couldn't help but smiling softly in return. He stood then, holding out an envelope for her.

"This is the corporate card that is connected with the budget account for you. The log in information is also in there, so you can see what you're working with. Use it, Steph."

She stood, taking it, and then hesitated with her hand on the doorknob.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just…" she sighed and brushed some hair out of her face, looking conflicted. "I wanted to do this as a gift to you. It doesn't seem fair that you pay for it."

He walked around his desk to her as she stood by the door. "Every day that you're here is a gift to me, Stephanie." He kissed her forehead softly and opened the door for her. "Use it. Please."

She gave him a good natured glower, knowing she can't refuse his usage of the word "please" and left his office feeling distinctly lighter than she had when she walked in.

Ranger sat back down at his desk and dialed Tank's extension.

"Yo. What are the dimensions of the lobby downstairs?"


	3. December 2nd

**A/N: Ah! The response is so overwhelmingly positive! Thank you so much! And don't worry - I have everything up to Day 24 written. Got you guys covered. :)**

**Same standard disclaimer applies.  
**

* * *

Stephanie felt good about this gift. It was sneakily personal and yet something she knew Ranger would enjoy.

It took Stephanie probably two years to finally understand Ranger's music predilections. He listened to so many different types; it took her a while to get a handle on it. Not just that, but he also listened to specific genres based on whatever activity he was doing. She finally figured out that he preferred jazz to listen to when he was relaxing, liked harder instrumental stuff when he was getting ready to go take care of some bad guys, Latin when he wanted to dance or was in a fun, flirty mood, and he knew most of the words to all of her hard rock that she listened to. She had no idea where he stood on Christmas music, though.

She pooled all over her knowledge and decided to make him a "mix tape" of Christmas music of various genres. Of course, after her playlist hit fifty songs, she realized that it would certainly not be able to fit on a CD, let alone a tape, and that she better modernize. So that left her with today's gift: a small thumb drive. She thought she had everything covered: Tran Siberian Orchestra was the perfect Christmas pumping up music, plus some lighter jazz instrumentals, plus a few of her favorite fun songs. And he can get some Latin flavor in there occasionally.

She saw the selfishness in there a bit – she admitted to wanting to have something not-so-distracting on any December stakeouts she might have to sit through with him. He never let her listen to anything with words (you sing along _once_ and miss a man crawling around in the dark and he never lets you forget it!) but this would break up the monotony quite nicely.

Yes. This would do quite nicely.

* * *

He admits to keeping one eye on the monitors last night. He wasn't sure if Steph would come at night again, placing a gift for him in his stocking. She didn't even say that she would. He was reading way too much into this.

Her letter said she _might_ give him another gift. And he had kept his stocking on his door, just like she wanted. But nothing. He saw nothing.

The men were delighted with their stockings. It was more than that, obviously, but he knows that they appreciate the physicality of a gift more than emotions. He had a brief flash of jealousy at the idea that maybe Steph had written everyone letters like his. Maybe even one professing her love or undying devotion or some shit.

He had to get his head under control.

No, Steph didn't write anyone else a letter. A lot of his men wouldn't have appreciated that the way they did the stocking and the small tokens inside. They liked the feelings _behind_ the action, and they don't particularly enjoy having those feelings spelled out for them. Normally he didn't, either. As usual, she was the exception.

So no late night gift drops, and when he got to his office (at 7 sharp this morning), his stocking still hung flat against his door. Empty.

He was angry with himself for even being the tiniest bit disappointed. He had no right. She made no promises, she was living her life on a shoestring budget, and he was just a greedy bastard. He did get an alert that she had logged into the budget account last night. She hadn't touched the card, hadn't made any purchases, but at least she knew what was available to her.

He had a feeling he'd be hearing from her sometime today, even if it was Sunday.

He got back to the office around two pm. He had just completed a successful takedown but he didn't feel that successful. He felt how he was sure Steph felt entering her parents' house after blowing up a vehicle. He sat at his desk staring at his phone, unsure if he wanted it to ring or not, when he heard a noise at his door.

His Babe stood there, doing one brief knock on the stocking before realizing it wasn't making any noise. She turned a cute shade of scarlet and knocked briefly right above it.

"You busy?"

He sighed internally. No. Yes. Kind of.

"What's wrong? I heard you caught Robert Falcioni this morning with no problems."

He had been so sure that he wasn't giving anything away on his face. Was he that transparent? Or did she just know him that well?

"Never mind." He realized he had paused too long and she was feeling nosy. "Not my business. Sorry."

"Don't apologize, Babe. The Falcioni takedown did go well, but it was a bit too close to Newark for my taste."

"Since when do you not like Newark? Your family lives in Newark." He waited for her to get there herself. "Ohhhhh."

"We got him leaving church this morning."

"Ohhhh," she repeated, her eyes wider. "You know, it's funny. I guess I just don't picture you as someone who still gets yelled at by their mom."

He grinned at her, showing his teeth. She was struck with a brief flashback into Little Red Riding Hood. "Not so much yelling as it is quiet berating and worries about my safety. Having to explain to her why I had to stop a guy from pistol whipping me in the parking lot of Saint Augustine's isn't something I'm looking forward to."

"Does she ask you to quit your job?"

"Can't really quit a company I own, Babe."

"Okay, well, sell then?"

"No. She understands who I am and what I do and she accepts it. She's given up on trying to change me."

"Wonder what that's like," Steph muttered and Ranger could feel his eyes softening on her.

"Not that I mind you dropping in, but was there a reason you came here on a Sunday, Steph?"

"Well, I initially came to yell at you for that corporate card and how much money you think I'm going to be spending on a Christmas party in _Trenton_, but since you're already going to get a lecture today, I think I'll spare you."

"Much appreciated, Babe."

A mischievous smile spread on her face. "Do you want to see my car?"

"Did you get a new one?" He hadn't heard of any accidents regarding Steph. In fact, she was driving a trusty Honda Civic that while it was a god awful shade of brown, it was reliable. She routinely joked that it was only a few shades away from black, so it was like she was practically driving one of his cars.

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p' and rocking back on her heels. "You gonna come see or what?"

He was going to point out that he could easily bring up the garage on the monitors in his office, but he felt himself standing anyways. He rationed it that if he wasn't in his office, he couldn't answer his mother's call. That, and spending time with Stephanie? Win-win.

He slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him as they walked to the elevator. A few guys that hadn't been around yesterday shouted their thanks to her for the treasures, and he knew that if he wasn't with her, she would've been showered with hugs and a few kisses from the bold. He tightened his grip fractionally.

"You smell like Christmas."

"That's how I usually describe Diesel," she told him with a laugh as the lift started to move.

"You do _not_ smell like Diesel," he growled. She smelled like evergreen and spiced apples and something a little sweeter than usual. He liked it.

"I hope not!" She agreed. He noticed her surreptitiously take a deep inhale of his own scent. He knew she was a fan of his body wash and while it was just a soap to him, her reaction guaranteed that he wouldn't be changing it anytime soon.

The doors opened and they stepped out into the garage. He was happy to notice that Steph wasn't too far from the doors; his standing orders that she have a good parking spot still being effective. He took one step before pausing.

If he was a guffawing man, he would have guffawed. That was how funny Stephanie's car looked.

"Do you like it?"

"Babe?" He took a few steps closer and felt his traitorous smile tilt the corners of his mouth up.

It was…a reindeer.

The red nose was on the front grill, oversized and plush (he didn't want to find out if it squeaked – he might not be able to handle that), with antlers attached to the windows. It was a reindeer. The kicker, while not being the red nose, although that was close, was the sun shade she had put in her windshield. It looked suspiciously homemade. It blocked out the sun from heating her seats (her seats weren't even leather, he knew), but on the front were two eyes. Huge cartoonish eyes peered at him from under her windshield. Coupled with the color of her car, it was not only ridiculous, but comical.

"So? What do you think?"

"It's a reindeer."

"Not just a reindeer. It's Rudolph." She gave him a teasing eye roll. "Gotta be more aware of your surroundings, _Babe_."

"You turned your car into a reindeer."

"Fa la la la la, Ranger." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're going to pick up skips in a reindeer?" It barely came out as a question, but it was all he could muster at that point.

"Mooner and Dougie already told me that they were going to get arrested and then skip bail just so they could ride in it down to the cop shop. They may or may not dress as Santa and an elf."

"You never disappoint, Babe."

She beamed at him like he had just given her a million dollars.

"I'm going to assume that means you like it. Don't correct me if I'm wrong." Before he could respond, she opened the driver's side door. "I'm going shopping, and I'm sure you have a phone call waiting for you. I'll see you tomorrow, Ranger."

"Later, Babe."

He made his way back up to his office, smiling internally at how perfect her reindeer car was for her personality – and hoping she didn't give Lester any ideas. He opened his office, having just closed the door and not locked it up, when the stocking rocked against the door. He stopped in his tracks, eying the stocking.

He felt the bottom of the stocking on the outside and sure enough, there was something tiny and hard on the inside of it. He was convinced it hadn't been there that morning, yet there was _definitely_ something in there now.

He reached inside, pulling out a tiny thumb drive, trying to tell himself he wasn't disappointed that there wasn't a written note. He had, after all, gotten the gift he had wanted. He took it to his desk and sat there, staring at it as if it held all the answers.

He felt like things were changing between him and Stephanie. Worst of all, he couldn't tell if she felt it too. Did she feel this…this _blossoming_? It was blooming all around him, it was encompassing him. It was all he could think about, all he could feel, all he could see and taste. And a tiny part of him was angry with her; he was upset that there was a chance she could not be feeling what he was. Or that she could somehow _ignore_ it. It just didn't make sense, and it was riling his system, rankling his senses.

He blew out a harsh breath of frustration and shoved the flash drive into the closest USB port on his computer.

"Fuck it," he muttered, waiting for it to load. There were two items in the drive. One he could see was an iTunes playlist, and the other a word document. He clicked both open, waiting for whichever was first to load.

The word document opened quickly and he realized that it wasn't an overemotional confession. He hated himself a little bit for not knowing whether he was relieved or disappointed.

Instead, it was a brief overview of all the songs that were on the playlist and a few notes. In the meantime, iTunes had opened and started playing the songs. He allowed a small laugh to escape him at the first song and the note she had written to go with it.

It was a band called Guster's cover of 'Donde Esta Santa Claus?' and she had typed in italics, "_for the Latin lover in you._" The gift lifted the cloud that had previously settled on his mind. He knew he was being dramatic. He didn't rush things. He had meticulous plans for everything in his life, and Stephanie was no exception. And yet, she was. She always was the exception to every single rule in his life, every guideline he told himself to live by.

This gift was perfect. It was interesting to see how Stephanie interpreted his music preferences, with most of them being spot on. He had no idea she was that in tune with him. She gave him a large mix, all being Christmas themed, but as the second song came on, a smooth jazz instrumental of 'The First Noel,' he knew that he would be listening to this until Christmas. It fit him perfectly.

He sat there listening for longer than he'd like to admit. The songs were great. He divided them out like she had suggested and knew certain groups of songs would help her on a stakeout. He made a note in his calendar to schedule some time for them to go on one together in the next few weeks. Hell, they could stakeout his sister's house for all he cared.

As he shut his computer down, not intending to work all day Sunday, he could still hear the soft lyrics of a song Stephanie had noted as one of her favorites.

_Is love alive?_

_Is love alive?_

_Is love alive?_


	4. December 3rd

**A/N: So earlier versus later during the week - it's either now, or after 5pm EST, so I figure I might as well get it out now :) Hope everyone's enjoying this; I have some reviews to respond to and private messages to write back to, so hopefully I get to that tonight. Happy Monday!**

* * *

Mondays always were and always will be Stephanie's least favorite day. She was pleasantly surprised when she not only woke up with a happy warmth spreading through her system, but she woke up 10 minutes before her alarm.

She knew she was excited to keep on giving gifts. She felt like Santa. It was so true, what everyone had always said: giving is _way_ better than receiving. She loved the thrill of trying to sneak one by Ranger, although she wasn't entirely sure he didn't see her slip the flash drive in yesterday when she was knocking. But he at least didn't call her out on it, which she appreciated.

She wasn't sure if Ranger would even mention the music she gave him. Or hell, if he had even found it. She thought she knew him at least a _little bit_, but every day she learned a little more. Yesterday, she thought her mind was going to explode with Ranger volunteering information about his family like that. It was disconcerting to try and reconcile all the many facets she knew of Ranger with a new one that seemed to contradict those that she knew of, but she couldn't help wanting more from the man in black.

She rushed through her morning routine, eager to get to work for the first time in her adult life. She had a brief moment of concern – what if Ranger went in the wind this month? She pushed that thought out of her mind, refusing to dwell on that just in case it was possible. Maybe she'd casually ask Ranger what the likelihood of that was, although he never seemed to get much notice.

Her gift today was purely fun. It was something she had bought him a few months ago and didn't know when the right time to give it to him was. It was too small to be for any occasion really, and she wasn't really known for 'just because' gifts. This makeshift advent calendar was a perfect match.

* * *

He fingered the gift lightly, turning it over in his palm. He remembered her writing in her initial note (that he may or may not have read several times since then) that she wished she could replace the infamous Porsche that she had destroyed.

In his hand now sat a tiny Hot Wheels toy: a perfect replica of his destroyed Porsche Boxter. Midnight black and everything. No note, no email, no nothing accompanied it in his stocking. He saw her drop it in around 9am after she had gotten settled. (He had watched her pull in the garage and set up her reindeer car, so he knew when she had arrived.)

He placed the tiny car on his desk and moved it back and forth with his finger for a minute. He stopped abruptly as he realized that what he was doing could easily be classified as playing with toys, and the last thing needed was for Tank to catch him in the act.

He positioned it just right; moving a stack of unapproved timesheets from the management team, he made sure it looked okay next to his nameplate. His men were going to have a field day when they saw it, but he found he didn't care. He didn't have any personal items on his desk at all – a few framed photos lined a bookcase to his left, but nothing on his actual desk.

Speak of the devil, a light knock that was universally known to be Stephanie's sounded from his door. She still looked inordinately pleased that the stocking was hung, and he watched her smile grow even bigger as she saw the Porsche on his desk. She was a tiny little miracle, right in front of him.

"Yo, Babe."

"Yo yourself."

"You heading out for the day?" It was only a little after three, but Steph was known to leave early on Mondays, and if she had finished all her work, he couldn't blame her.

"Gonna go catch a skip with Lula. Thought I'd drop these off before I left." She waved two files of searches he had asked for earlier that morning.

He nodded and she dropped the files into his inbox. As she turned to leave, he found that he didn't want her to.

"Babe?" She turned to face him, eyes wide. "You free for dinner tonight?"

A slow smile spread across her face as her words once again became teasing. "Depends. You offering something better than my mother's pot roast?"

"Much better." His eyes darkened as she flushed prettily

"I'll see you at 7?"

He gave her a curt nod and she sent him that sweet smile once more before flouncing out of the office. The only thing the both of them were thinking was: _progress_.

* * *

Dinner was an awkward affair, which was not the norm for either of them. There was so much left unsaid, by both parties, and there was this _thing_ that was in the middle of the room and no one knew what to do with it.

Ranger had the impression that Stephanie wanted to say something, or ask him a question, but instead of blurting it out which she normally did, she was casting him covert glances and averting her eyes whenever he caught her.

"You have a question, Babe?" He finally asked ask she mumbled her way through the scalloped potato dish that he suspected had more calories than he preferred. Ella had a talent for making meals both taste and nutrient rich, but she did have a soft spot for Stephanie.

"A tree would look nice over there," she points to a barren spot in the living room, right in front of the windows. Of course, that isn't quite fair. His whole apartment is sparse, bordering on bleak, and he liked it that way. He thought he did, anyway.

He knew that wasn't what she wanted to say, but figured he'd wait her out. As for the tree thing…

"You thinking of going into decorating, Babe?"

Avoidance. He feels a little bad, actually, not answering her question straight out. He doesn't know what this recent fascination with Christmas is, and while he doesn't hate it, it's throwing him for a loop. She had never commented on his apartment before, never made him feel like maybe it wasn't enough.

"I guess I just see Christmas trees everywhere nowadays," she backtracked.

"I've never had a tree up here," he confessed, trying to give her _something_.

"I'm shocked!"

There it was. Even if just for a brief moment. There was the teasing Steph he knew.

"I'm scared that if I tell Ella to decorate, she'll go completely overboard and I'll have to ride a sleigh to get to my bedroom."

She let out a free laugh at that, enjoying the mental imagery. She loved it when Ranger played around with her. It made her feel special that she was the only one he let loose to.

"People can surprise you. You thought I was going to go nuts downstairs and I didn't."

"Babe, I think you're going to go nuts every _day_."

"Very funny." She poked her tongue at him. She pushed around her food a little before finally biting the bullet. "Can I ask you a question?"

He waited for her to meet his eyes. "Always."

"Do you think…I mean, do you know…I mean, I guess you don't usually know, and there's no way for you _to_ know. Never mind."

He waited. He knew this was obviously something she wanted to ask if she had been mulling it around for so long, so he utilized his patience and stayed quiet for her to gather her thoughts.

"Do you think you'll be here for Christmas?"

That was _not_ what he was expecting.

"At Rangeman?"

"No!" She rushed to say. "I meant like, here, as in New Jersey. As in, not in the wind?" Another pause, as he took in her words and she continued on, trying to explain herself. "I know you don't usually get any notice, or if you do it's not much, or if you do, you don't usually tell _me_, but I was just…you know. Wondering."

He wasn't sure why she wanted to know, but assumed it had something to do with her newfound Christmas fever, but he knew that this was something he could answer honestly and completely, for once in his life.

"I'll be here, Babe."

"Are you sure? Because if you're not, it's okay, I just-"

"I'm sure. I have some training modules to run through in March, but I'm not on deck for any 'in the wind' ops."

"For the rest of the year?" She pressed, hoping he wouldn't get angry with her intrusiveness.

"Typical time off is about 8 months after being shot in the chest. Training is down in Virginia and not strenuous, and then I renegotiate in May."

"You don't have to tell me…"

"Not getting any younger, Babe," he said with a self-deprecating smile. She wished she could take that away. She knew how much it took for him to admit that simple fact and yet here he was, opening to her more and more. The Ranger of two years ago, maybe even one, would never have mentioned training or renegotiating. It was enough then. It wasn't enough now.

As she got together her stuff to leave, he gathered her for the hug that he had wanted to give her so desperately for the last three days. She stiffened for a brief moment before relaxing completely into him, melting her body against his.

She knew that this was where she wanted to be. She might get frustrated with the man, might be confused and curious and all sorts of other conflicting emotions when it came to him, but when he wrapped his arms around her, it all sort of faded away.

It was enough.


	5. December 4th

**A/N- :) :) :) Not that long today, but just as sweet!**

* * *

She waited until he went to the bond's office. She still goes down there every now and again for skips to help with Lula and stuff, but most of her income these days came from Rangeman and she was okay with that. Nowadays, most of her visits to the bond's office were for gossip and maybe some clarification on a search, if she was looking into a Jersey bred felon. But no, she wasn't running around through garbage on a regular basis, at least not for December.

She laughed aloud as she remembered a sign she saw at park, trying to deter littering. "Keep Christmas Clean!" it said. She figured that was the motto for her December, too. Keep it clean. She jotted down a note to go to that park soon – they had a beautiful holiday light display she heard, but she hadn't been to check it out soon. Maybe she could take Mary Alice and Angie. Maybe she could take Ranger.

She snuck up to the door, even though she knew he had pulled out of the garage a few minutes earlier with Tank in tow, and placed her gift inside the stocking softly. It wasn't fragile by any means, but she didn't want it to crinkle and give away her position –

"Whatcha doing over there, Beautiful?" Lester sauntered over to her while her hand was still in the stocking. It was quite clear what she was doing. "Are you leaving something special for the boss man? You know, that's not fair. I've been a very good boy this year."

She snorted, removing her hand from the stocking, giving it one last press to make sure her post-it was still there. "Doubtful, Les. So very doubtful."

"Still, I doubt Ranger's been any better, so why does he get extra gifts?" He moved so quickly that Steph's brief pleas for him to leave it alone fell on deaf ears, and he pulled the stocking open to peer inside. "Oh really? You know, I'll take one that's a bit…healthier than that."

"You definitely haven't been that good," she said as she headed back to her cube, trying to lure Les with her. It was working. "And you got a treat in your stocking this morning too, didn't you?"

She wasn't putting something in there every day, and today was the first time she had put something in since the initial hanging of the stockings, but she thought it'd be fun for the guys to come in and find something every now and then.

"Yes, and I look very dapper in them, I'll have you know."

Steph had collaborated with Ella to embroider some plain black scarves and gloves for the guys. They weren't that high quality – again, more purchases from the Dollar Tree – but they were personalized and festive and still _black__**.**_ If she remembered correctly, Lester's said "Dear Santa, define 'good.'"

She thought her and Ella had gotten more enjoyment from deciding what they'd say than the guys would get from them!

"I'm sure you do, Les." She finally reached her cubicle and turned around to face him. Lester had been walking incredibly close to her though and she collided with his chest. She stumbled a few paces back and flopped into her chair, incredulity written across her face.

"Thought we were going farther."

"Don't you always?"

"Anyways, you and Ranger, huh?" He waggled his eyebrows at her. "You gonna deck his halls?"

"I'm gonna deck _you_ in a minute, you goof." She smiled at him, shaking her head. "I'm just trying to get him in the spirit is all."

"Well, keep doing what you're doing. It's working."

"What do you mean?" She hadn't thought Ranger was acting any differently than he usually did. He didn't seem _happier_ per se.

"You kidding me, Steph?" Lester pulled a rolling chair from the cubicle next door and sat down across from her, apparently getting ready to have a serious chat. "Three years ago, this never would have happened. We weren't even allowed to request time _off_ for Christmas. Now there is garland and lights and a tree in the break room and you have Ranger keeping a _stocking_ on his door. This is a big deal, even if you can't see it."

She had always known that Ranger was a strict leader, but also a very effective one. She couldn't imagine him being the Scrooge Lester was painting him to be.

"Lester, it's not a big deal. Really."

"One year I put on a pair of elf ears, and he sent me to Saudi Arabia."

"No he did not."

"Well, I was headed there anyways, so…" Lester gave her his trademark grin, prompting an eye roll.

He launched into a fantastical story about him in the desert wielding only a sword he fashioned out of an old PVC pipe he found and various pieces of silverware. Steph was just about to demand that he tell her _exactly_ how much of it was true when they heard a throat clear from behind Lester.

He spun around, grin still in place, knowing full well who it was.

"Back to work, Santos." Ranger stepped to the side to make eye contact and gave her a curt nod. "Stephanie."

As he walked towards his office, Steph glared at Lester.

"You're getting me in trouble! Get out, get out, get out," she shooed him. "Or no more gifts for you!"

"But I was just about to tell you the part where I got to the dragon…"

"Out!" She gave his knee a sharp jab with her foot.

"Okay, jeez woman, I'm going!"

* * *

He took his leave and Stephanie popped her head out of her cubicle to see if Ranger had found his Tuesday gift yet, but all she saw was the door closing.

He was still bristling when he got to his office door from seeing Lester and Stephanie so cozy together in her cube. He heard a few lines from Lester's story – a _heavily_ modified war story, if his memory served him right – and he saw the look in her eyes and felt the jealousy rush over him. She was entranced with the words coming out of his mouth. Lester's. Not his. She loved a good story and his cousin loved to deliver. It stung, but he knew only because of his own insecurities.

When was the last time he told her a story and she looked at him like that?

When was the last time he told her a story, period?

It was his own damn fault and that was the part that hurt the most.

He went to open his door, to presumably sit down in his chair and sulk, when he noticed that his stocking had a bulge.

A present. From Stephanie.

He quickly grabbed the package and brought it into his office, closing the door behind him. He looked down to see what it was and felt his eyebrows knit together.

A bag of Hershey's Kisses. He flipped it over and noticed a small Post-It attached to the back and Stephanie's familiar scrawl.

"_For optimal pleasure, enjoy in an abandoned alley."_

A kiss. She was giving him kisses.

Bet she didn't give Lester a kiss.


	6. December 5th

**A/N: Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

She was convinced he was mad at her since he didn't come out of his office for the rest of the day. He was stuck going over annual performance evaluations. While Tank was generally the one to conduct the appraisals, he went over them with a fine tooth comb to make sure he knew as much as possible about his men. It sucked up all of his time and before he knew it, it was 7pm and he hadn't even thought about dinner, let alone about the rest of his life.

He called Ella, told her to bring something able to be reheated up to 7 so that he wasn't confined by time, and let his eyes drift to the bag of Hershey's Kisses on his desk.

It was an alien sight to him – he hadn't seen the candy outside of stores or Steph's apartments in years. It had certainly never been something he chose to put in his own personal space. And yet there they were, sitting idly on his desk.

In what he would later cite as a momentary weakness, he opened the bag with quick, economic precision, unwrapped a singular Kiss, and popped it in his mouth. It happened so fast he wasn't even sure what had occurred.

The sugar on his tongue was foreign, but not unwelcome. It melted quickly, smoothly, spreading out evenly. He could feel the somewhat grainy chocolate becoming a puddle in his mouth and he had to remind himself to swallow it. He could practically hear his esophagus asking him, "are you _sure_?"

That small Kiss held more refined sugar than he had allowed himself total in the past two weeks. As always, Stephanie Plum was the one to get him to throw his rules out the window. He knew one small bite of chocolate wasn't going to hurt him in the long run, but he couldn't help but smirk at how he was always getting on the guys for snacking on things less than great for them. Did this make him a hypocrite?

He grabbed the last few performance evals to go through in his office upstairs, starting to feel hungry now that he introduced that small amount of food to his stomach, and on an impulse, shook out a few Kisses, left them on his desk, then took the bag.

* * *

"They think you're going to fire me, you know."

Ranger looked up from the spreadsheet of Christmas bonuses he was working on and took in Stephanie, leaning against his doorframe. She was wearing tight black jeans and a black scoopneck sweater with Rangeman Inc. embroidered on it. He hadn't seen it before, but it looked great on her.

"Did you blow up my car?"

Steph rolled her eyes at that. He was teasing, obviously. He was always the first to know if one of Stephanie's or his _own_ trackers went offline.

Instead of answering, she held up a tiny bell shaped candy, dangling it by the paper ribbon. He was feeling charitable last night and left the bag by the Christmas tree in the break room and told the guys on monitors to help themselves _to a few_.

When he came down that morning, someone had sprinkled the tiny candies all around the pillow of snow that surrounded the small tree. He would normally accuse Ella in this type of situation, but with the holiday cheer running rampant in his building, he genuinely couldn't be sure that she was the only one capable of such a thing.

He didn't answer, choosing to only cock an eyebrow as they had what she would deem a "silent conversation."

Predictably, she was the first one to cave.

"There's a rumor that maybe the boss put them out there."

"Oh?" He got up out of his chair, tired of being so far from her.

"Yeah…whoa, you're dressed to kill. Literally," Steph noted as he got out from behind his desk. He was working without a jacket on so his shoulder holster and side holster could easily be seen. He also had another gun on his ankle, a knife on the other, and a pocket knife in his pocket, but he didn't think he had to tell her that.

"I could say the same to you," he noted, his eyes drinking in her appearance. That sweater looked even better than he thought.

"About that – this sweater? It's too much."

"I'll tell Ella that you want more cleavage," he murmured as he finally stood a step away letting his finger trace the neckline.

"What? No!"

"Okay, I'll tell Ella that _I _want more cleavage." His finger drifted to her shoulder, lightly caressing. "Mm. Soft."

That seemed to shake Steph out of her stupor.

"Yes. It's very soft. You know why? Because this is _cashmere_."

Another eyebrow cocked.

"Cashmere. As in…made of cashmere. As in costs a million dollars!"

"I'm a pretty savvy businessman, Babe. I doubt I paid a million for that sweater." He met her eyes and saw the pleading look in them. He cupped her chin gently. "What's wrong, Babe? You don't like it?"

He didn't put the order in for this sweater exactly, but he did ask Ella to get Stephanie some 'winter' apparel. The men got thermal shirts to wear in this kind of weather; he assumed she would do the same for her. The fact that he routinely didn't put a price cap on what to pay for Stephanie is what led to the current dilemma, he'd say.

"Of course I like it. I _love_ it. But I'm serious, Ranger. This is too much. You have to take it back."

"I'll tell Ella to stick to something a little more basic, okay? As for taking it back, I'm not sure who else would look good in it." He coaxed a small smile out of her.

"I don't know, give it to charity. Give it to Julie!"

"I'm not giving a sweater with my company's name on it to charity. Who knows where it could end up? As for Julie, I am not giving my daughter something that could make teenage boys have the same thoughts that I am having about you right now."

Her face heated at that, and she looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"That bad, huh?"

"That _good_, Babe."

They stared at each other for a good minute, both of them willing the other to make the first move, yet neither willing to do so themselves.

"I should get going," Stephanie broke the silence. "Good luck on your takedown. Don't get shot."

There was a heaviness to her usual sendoff ever since he had been on the more unpleasant end of a gun a few months prior. She hadn't been around when he had gone out for that 'redecorating' job, hadn't been able to give him the words she always did. And he _had_ gotten shot. He had almost left her.

"I won't," he said softly, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb. "Don't go too crazy."

"Promise." He couldn't tell if it was a question or acquiescence, but Tank chose that moment to interrupt regardless.

"You ready to go, Rangeman? Oh, hey Bomber."

"Hey Tank. I'll see you guys later. Have fun."

"Oh, you know it!" Lester said, coming up from behind her with Bobby. They all looked lethal today, wearing dark pea coats that didn't hide the telltale firearm bulge, yet still made them look hot.

"Not _too much_ fun though."

"Us?" Bobby had the nerve to look taken aback. "Never!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you guys later. I'll have that search you wanted on your desk by the time you get back, Tank."

"No rush."

"Bye, Babe."

And on impulse, she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Ranger's cheek. "Be careful," she whispered, before scurrying out the door, so the guys could continue their planning.

It took her five minutes to get her heart rate under control.

* * *

After she got herself under control, she waited impatiently for Ranger to leave, snuck his gift in his stocking, and decided to go grab lunch and bring it to the bond's office and get some time in with Lula and Connie.

Walking in with two buckets of chicken and two sides of potato wedges, Stephanie received a hero's welcome at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds.

"So, how's it going?" Lula finally asked, after annihilating three pieces of chicken.

"It's going okay, how about you?"

"No, not you. How is your _wooing_ going?" Steph had hoped that Lula hadn't told Connie about her little secret Santa game with Ranger, but judging from the wide eyed anticipating look on her face, she knew she was in the loop.

"It's…going?"

"White girl, you better spill it right now."

"What do you want me to say? He doesn't call me every night and gush about the stupid little gifts I leave him, if that's what you're looking for." Was it what _she_ was looking for?

"You know that man better than anyone, Steph," Connie piped in. "We know that you can read him and tell us what he's thinkin'. So don't you pretend like you don't know what he's feeling." She waved a chicken wing wildly in the air, exaggerating her words.

"If I knew what Ranger was thinking, do you really think I'd be here eating chicken with you two?"

"Good point."

"Well ain't that just the tits?" Lula sounded genuinely disappointed. "Here I was thinkin' you'd be tellin' us all these juicy stories and tales of passion and you's comin' in here less confident than ever!"

"That's not true!" Feeling like she needed to give her something, she went on. "He put the Hot Wheels Porsche I got him on his desk."

"Now that's what I'm talkin' bout! I knew he was in love with you!"

"WHOA. Jumping the gun much, Lula?" She realized she had fallen into Lula's trap. "He has a dumb little trinket on his desk. It doesn't mean anything."

"What's today's gift?" Connie inquired.

"Umm…it's a little Christmas tree. A black one. You plug it into your USB port and it has lights on it that light up." She was convinced that wasn't going to end up on his office desk, but she thought maybe it would land in his apartment. Or in the trash. One of those.

"Okay, we're gonna need to know if that shows up on his desk. Don't _make_ me ask Tankie."

"_Tankie_ doesn't know anything about this little gift giving that I'm doing and I'd like to keep it that way."

Connie barked out a laugh as she dug a well-manicured hand into the potato wedges.

"If you think you're getting away with _anything_ inside the walls of Rangeman, you are seriously deluded, Plum."

She felt herself pale at that. Was she deluded? Did everyone know what she was doing, and they were just letting her pretend that she was being secretive? Her eyes instantly went to Lula.

"Hey, don't look at me. Tankie ain't sayin' nothin' to me."

Was she really getting away with _any_ of it?

* * *

"She's giving you gifts every day, isn't she?"

"Get focused, Santos," Ranger growled.

They were in place, but still ten minutes out from nabbing a guy for Homeland Security and the last thing he wanted to do was give these guys not just ammunition against him, but a distraction. This waiting business sucked, but until the other teams were in place, there was nothing for them to do except stay alive.

"She's like an advent calendar!" He crowed, not deterred in the least. "Imagine if Steph was the calendar? You could take off a piece of clothing every day-"

Ranger's forearm connected with Lester's sternum and he pinned him with a harsh gaze, one of which effectively shut him up.

"Start thinking of the mission. Stop thinking about Stephanie. Forever."

"Forever, huh? Tossing around some big words, boss man." Lester said after inching away from Ranger's physical range. "Careful what you say; we'll start to think you mean it."

"I really don't want to explain to Tia Rosa that I had to scrape her son off the pavement because he was too interested in my love life to stay focused on what should be a very simple mission. Now shut up, and get focused." He paused. "And if I hear you say anything to Steph that could make her second doubt herself, I will take you out myself, you got that?"

Silence descended upon them.

"You tree should be here by Friday, Boss."

As Lester and Bobby questioned Tank's statement, Ranger rested his head in his hands. _You've got to be fucking kidding me._

* * *

The mission itself was easy and quick, actually requiring very little from Ranger, which is why he was cleared for it in the first place. The thing with Homeland Security is that there was either a ton of paperwork or none at all. Ranger was thankful that this was a 'none at all' mission. Still, by the time all was said and done and he had cleaned up on 7, it was past 5 and everyone had pretty much cleared out of Rangeman.

Not everyone, he supposed, but everyone that mattered.

He was pleased, if not surprised, at the large bulge in his stocking that he saw on his way to his office. He normally wouldn't have even come back down after a takedown like today, instead preferring to finish up work at his apartment, maybe watch a movie, and if he was feeling particularly ambitious, maybe a nighttime visit to Stephanie. Instead, he was on 5, taking his stocking into his office so that no one could see him, because he didn't want to risk a chance of him still having that gift in there tomorrow when Stephanie went to plant another. He didn't want her to think he didn't appreciate it. Appreciate _her_.

He reconsidered that when he pulled the tiny tree out of the stocking.

It was maybe 7 or 8 inches high, made of black shiny tinsel, with tiny lights strung about on black cord. A small base and the connecting wire, he realized, was a USB. It was powered through his computer.

He was having a dilemma. Did he put it on his desk on 5, or take it to his apartment on 7? He had no idea what the right solution was for this. Keeping it on 5 would open him up to a world of ridicule from his men. Considering he was going from absolutely no articles on his desk to some sort of black trinket collection, he knew the men would be curious about what was going on, possibly to the detriment of Steph.

On the other hand, if he took it upstairs, she wouldn't see it. Unless she went to his apartment more often, which he was very okay with. And she did say that he needed a tree up there.

Ten minutes had gone by and he was no closer to making a decision. He quickly decided _not to decide_, and put the tiny tree in a drawer. He didn't have to deal with it that night, he knew. He could simply choose to think about it another time. If she didn't see it right away, she would assume it was on 7, and he could have plenty of time to make a rational, well-thought out decision.

_Yeah,_ he snorted to himself. _Because those happen in relation to Stephanie._


	7. December 6th

**A/N:** **The reviews that have been submitted have been so incredibly wonderful. You guys are a really _really_ fantastic group, and I'm so happy and _lucky_ to be part of this fandom. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me! I hope you enjoy this little bit of sweet fluff for today.**

* * *

She almost didn't notice it. She had been kind of avoiding Ranger's office today, despite knowing how ridiculous she was being. She had put today's gift in his stocking while he was on a phone call with the door closed, probably around 8 am. Ever since then she didn't want to go see him in case the tree wasn't out. Or in case it was. She wasn't entirely sure. It was all very confusing for her.

She put her head down on her desk and groaned. Had she not thought this through at all? For some reason, in her head, none of this was going to wreak havoc on her emotions. She could make it through the 25 days until Christmas, giving Ranger personal gifts that she was emotionally invested in, and she thought that it would be _fine_.

She was an idiot.

It was only day 6 and she was already having some sort of breakdown. She couldn't decide if she wanted him to like the gifts, or to what _degree_ to like the gifts and – oh, it was all just so confusing!

She knew she must have looked crazy, doing searches with the occasional mutter to herself. She was so worked up that she didn't even turn around when Tank dropped more searches into her inbox, and the man being as smart as he was, didn't even try to ask. He knew when it was a lost cause.

Around 11, she took another search out of her inbox, eager to keep her mind busy lest it keep revolving around Ranger and a plastic Christmas tree (_boy, was that a sentence she never thought would exist_) when she noticed it.

The search was from Ranger, which wasn't surprising given that Tank had dropped it off. Most of the searches that came from Tank were for the larger projects that both he and Ranger were involved in. Ranger's scrawl at the bottom told her that this was needed by tomorrow – not so urgent , the Post-It in the middle of the page told her that he wanted to do lunch with her, and the Batman paperclip at the top of the page told her that he received today's gift, and if nothing else, thought it was pragmatic.

It was the traditional Batman symbol, with the body of the bat going behind the pages, and the wings staying on the front. They were silver (she knew Ranger didn't enjoy the colored paperclips, not only because of their failure to bow to his monochromatic ways, but because they "felt" wrong) and sturdy, holding together a stack of at least ten pages.

He liked them.

She sent him a quick e-mail, asking if 12:30 was okay (still not willing to go to the lion's den and risk seeing…something? nothing?), and felt a little bit of the worry creep out of her. He might not have liked yesterday's present – and she knew she was jumping to absurd conclusions with that – but he liked today's. Liked it enough to use it. And liked it enough for Tank to see it first, too.

She thought for a minute that maybe Tank didn't notice, but then she remembered what Connie said. She was in a building of professionals, trained to notice everything. She wasn't getting away with anything.

For some reason, that made her even happier when she thought of him using the paperclips.

* * *

"Ella made beef stew and bread, Babe. That okay?"

The first really cold snap had hit today and she felt it all the way to her bones. She needed something warm and rich to get her back to normal, and that, combined with Ella? She felt her soul moan in appreciation.

"Didn't realize you were in the habit of asking stupid questions, Ranger," she teased, still feeling the high of endorphins from him using the paperclips that morning. Ridiculous? Yes.

"Babe."

She just grinned at him and continued to set up bowls at the breakfast bar for them. After they had finally settled in, she was surprised when Ranger broke the silence.

"How's the reindeer?"

It took her a moment before she realized what he was talking about and beamed at him.

"_Great_, actually. People love it. I think people _don't_ want to see it explode, which is something new and different for me."

"If it doesn't blow up this month, it will be a Christmas miracle."

Stephanie grasped her heart, feigning shock. "Did you just make a joke, Ranger? I mean, if _that's_ not a Christmas miracle, I don't know what is!"

"I'm a funny guy, Babe." The corners of his mouth barely lifted.

"See, I think you're funny. No one believes me when I tell them you're funny."

He took a deep breath. This was part of his plan. If he didn't like it when Lester told her stories, he was going to have to step up his game.

"One time, overseas, I even got one over on Lester."

"You _did_?" Stephanie couldn't see Ranger actually playing a practical joke on someone, let alone Lester, the master of revenge.

"To be fair, we weren't in hostile territory and it was his own damn fault." He let out a little chuckle in remembrance.

"Can you…tell me the story? I mean, if it's not classified or something?"

"Babe, I wouldn't bring up a story I couldn't share." He had to dredge the memory up from his brain and actually work on not laughing. "We were overseas, pretty close to a nearby embassy, and Lester thought he was being a badass, sneaking away and hooking up with a delegate."

Stephanie flushed a bit thinking of Lester in that type of situation, but it quickly receded. She wasn't surprised in the least.

"We were camped out in the desert and he brought her back with him one time, which was not only distracting, but…disruptive." He saw her blush more and knew he understood what he was getting at. "She slipped out in the morning, not waking him, and she told us that we should clear out too, since some journalists and reporters used that route and were going to be recording."

"_No_…" She had an idea where this was going.

"We gathered all our stuff, packed up the Humvee and parked it out of reach. I shouted that we were about to come under enemy fire, and Lester woke up screaming like a little girl. He made it out of his sleeping bag to grab his pistol, and Tank…" He put his head down in his hand, trying to fight his smile. It was so ridiculous to him, even after all these years. "Tank shoved a grenade in his sleeping bag and threw it as far as he could. Lester starts running buck naked, following Bobby, with only his M9. Bobby led him right to a caravan of reporters, who were all filming the sunrise anyways."

"M9? Isn't that the Beretta you have downstairs?" He nodded. "That's not that big!" She gasped.

"Oh, it was big enough. The desert isn't always hot, Babe, and it was a cold, cold night."

Stephanie threw her head back, laughing hysterically, spurring on Ranger's slight laugh. It really was a sight to see, and it helped to take Lester down a few pegs.

"Did anyone see? Like, was it recorded by any big news?"

"It was just amateur reporters and journalists, but it spread fast. Made it on that segment that Anderson Cooper does, I think, about ridiculous things."

"The RidicuList?!" He nodded almost imperceptibly. "_Tell me_ you have it somewhere on tape!" She put her hands on Ranger's thigh, almost begging. He could feel her heat through his jeans and he swallowed thickly, his eyes drawn to her fingers. "I mean, so long as it's blurred out or something. But that is so _great_!"

She didn't seem to notice his minor lapse in cognitive function and removed her hands, allowing him to breathe once more. "I can't even believe you did that!" She crowed as she dug back in to her stew. "You're a genius."

The last of his laughter melted away, and he impulsively snaked an arm around Steph's shoulders, pulled her close and planted a kiss on her temple, before removing it and continuing with lunch. She didn't acknowledge it verbally, but he saw the tips of her ears turn red. That, coupled with the smile she sent him made him vow to tell her a dumb story every day for the rest of her life if she wanted, just to see that smile and hear her laugh.

* * *

He walked her down to her cubicle, both still feeling the lightness of the lunch. She turned around once she put her purse on her chair and got closer to him, standing maybe an inch away.

"I don't know how I'm going to look at Lester from now on," she whispered, causing Ranger to lean in even closer to hear her. Another giggle bubbled up and she ducked down into his chest, trying to hide it, resting her forehead against his sternum.

"If you really want to have some fun," he murmured next to her ear, sending warmth to all the right places, "call him Lieutenant Libido."

He shouldn't have told her that (was there no sense of brotherhood anymore? He could hear Lester's wounded voice in his head) but when she giggles more and pushes further into him, he can't bring himself to regret it. She pulled back, but remained so close still. He felt his arm rise of its own volition and stroke a piece of hair off her face. He cupped her cheek and their eyes met and somehow that felt more intimate than any other situation that had gotten themselves into in the last year.

Her own hand grasped his wrist, holding his hand to her face. He knew that she felt the same intensity that he did and he took comfort in that, if only for a minute.

"Later, Babe," he said softly, not wanting to interrupt the moment, yet not wanting the rest of the floor to be privy to it either.

"Bye."

Their hands remained connected as he brought them down between them. She gave one last look (was that longing he saw in her eyes?) to their joined hands before disentangling them, relinquishing her hold, however brief it was.

He went straight to his office and pulled out the tiny black tree.


	8. December 7th

**A/N: This one is a long one - something to start off your Friday! (I've thought every day this week has been Friday and it is nothing if not depressing.) Since tomorrow is the weekend, I'll definitely post - but we have an issue if I'm awake at 8:30 a.m.! Expect something around 11 - sorry earlybirds!**

* * *

For the first time since this whole craziness began, Stephanie woke up thinking about something _other_ than Ranger's stocking and the subsequent gifts. That's not to say her mind was completely devoid of Rangeman, though. No, this Friday morning, her mind was occupied with thoughts of the Rangeman Christmas party, and just how much fun it could be. Or should be. Or was _allowed_ to be.

She knew she didn't want to take advantage of Ranger's ridiculously high budget, but she did think it was only right that she relieve Ella from any cooking duties. She lie awake in bed (it was Friday and waking up was hard) and racked her brain for places that wouldn't already be booked.

She had so many ideas and not enough information, she decided. It didn't help that the guys were the most agreeable bunch of people there ever were. She knew that they would shower her with compliments regardless of the place she chose, but she wanted everyone to be comfortable. Comfortable but _special_. It was the 'special' part that really ruled a few places out. No Shorty's (although she thought maybe she'd be too scared to call there, anyways), no Pino's (_her_ comfort place), and not at Rangeman, where she initially thought she'd hold it. Back when her budget was $100 she was planning on charming out of Ranger.

Then, of course, came the when. It was already getting late in the season to book parties, and with Rangeman being such a large company, she really wanted to be sure that the most people could come. She already had a copy of the Rangeman schedule on her phone, courtesy of Tank. She had to ask Ranger what it meant when someone was on call. (In particular, him.)

There was so much to do; she felt the first tendrils of panic creep into her system. She wasn't an event planner by any means. Was she taking on too much? Now that she got Ranger to agree to it, she felt like she had to do it justice. That only meant one thing.

She had to get out of bed.

* * *

The v-cut black thermal shirts that Ella had purchased for her had Ranger written all over them. Literally, it said Rangeman Inc. on the left breast of the shirt. But figuratively, she knew that he _had_ to have mentioned something to Ella for her to buy a professional shirt with this much cleavage. But, she also knew that she looked pretty damn good in it, if she did say so herself.

Tight blue jeans (it's casual Friday, she tells herself) and that black thermal shirt help her feel more like a human, but she knows the majority of the thanks go to that shower. And her shower massager. (She's had quite the dry spell since her and Joe called it quits, and although Ranger's looks are hot enough to melt, she didn't think that he was quite _that_ magical.)

She normally would've put a tank top on underneath the sweater – it was quite a bit of cleavage for Rangeman – but it's Friday, she's got a lot of work to do, and if she happens to drive Ranger mad at the same time, then surely today would be a success.

She bundled up, completely defeating the point of the shirt, at least for now, and as she turns on her reindeer – it still make her smile every time she looks at it, and that's the whole point of it, isn't it? – she glanced up at the sky. It was a heavy gray today, and the burgeoning hope in her chest tells her what she wishes would happen. Snow. It might just snow.

She got to Rangeman a bit later than usual, a combination of her lazy wake up, the icy roads, and her desire to take the reindeer Civic by the schoolyard because Mary Alice and Angie said that they wanted to show their friends. She promised to take them to school one day this month, but mornings like today made her question her sanity.

Her parking spot was available – thank god – and she got into the lift, unbuttoning her coat and fluffing her hair. Her mind was already going wild with ideas of place to call for the party, she barely registered the _ding!_ of the elevators stopping earlier than 5. She heard the doors open and started to step off before realizing that she was in the main lobby, not the fifth floor.

Her jaw dropped open and her feet kept moving of their own accord.

"You going up, Miss Plum?" A newer recruit by the nickname of Cable asked her, as he was obviously the one waiting to get in the elevator.

She couldn't even bring herself to respond.

Standing in the foyer, behind the small desk that they used to greet people, was a _huge_ tree. Not just huge. Massive. It was a massive tree. It was at least fifteen feet high (she had no idea, special relations weren't really her specialty) and had tons of sparkling lights on it. The topper was a red ribbon, with the thick tendrils falling elegantly down the tree. That, coupled with the two wreaths on either side of it, created the perfect picture of Christmas to Stephanie.

"Miss Plum, is everything alright?"

"It's Stephanie, Cable." She reminded him for what had to be the hundredth time. "How long has this tree been here? I never come through the main lobby."

"Oh, it was just delivered today. Don't you like it? I think it makes this whole place a lot more festive."

_Like it?_ She _loved_ it!

* * *

She dropped her purse and her coat and scarf on her chair and started towards Ranger's office without even bothering to turn her computer on. She could hear the whispers, but she wasn't sure if it because it looked like she was on the warpath or because of her shirt and the cleavage that was threatening to bust out. She didn't particularly care; she was a woman on a mission.

She slipped his gift for today into the stocking before knocking. The gift was a small, deceivingly heavy square, maybe an inch thick. After she purchased it she realized she had absolutely no business being in a survivalist store. That close to that many guns? It wasn't worth the risk. But she had come out of it with a spur of the moment gift for Ranger, which had been an unexpected surprise. She had originally gone to get her grandma a 'real camouflage' tracksuit; Grandma Mazur had been quite specific in where she needed to go, and even which aisle it was in. After leaving, she wasn't sure how she felt about the idea of her grandma being in a place like that either. An accident waiting to happen, she knew.

Gift in place, she knocked on his door confidently.

"Enter."

She rolled her eyes at his bark of a command, but did as he wanted.

"Babe." He looked up, registering that it was her. She watched as his eyes drank her in, lingering on her WonderBra enhanced cleavage for a moment longer than usual. "_Babe_." His voice was hungry that time, his eyes dark.

"Hi."

A small shake of his head was all she thought she was going to get in response, so she was surprised when he continued. "None of my men are doing anything right now. Probably watching you walking through the halls on the video feeds."

"No cameras in here, then?"

"No. No cameras in here."

"Good to know," she teased, although it could be argued who was more affected, as she felt her ears turn red and her body heat up with the mental imagery she conjured.

He got up and made his way to her, his eyes never straying from her. She looked completely edible and ever since that chocolate kiss the other day, he found himself craving something sweet. He didn't know what it was exactly, but he was willing to bet the woman in front of him would leave him satisfied in every way.

"Is there a reason you are causing a riot today, Babe?" He leaned back against his desk, crossing his ankles. It was as far as he was willing to be from her, and as close as he dared to go without crossing some sort of line that they both weren't even 100% aware of.

She smiled enigmatically and then ruined his perfectly coordinated position by striding up next to him.

She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, similarly to how she had a few days prior before he left for a takedown, and she could feel her heart racing now just as it had then. She also felt the skin beneath her shift and move, and she knew that he was smiling as her lips touched his cheek. Not just smiling, but full on, 100-watt grinning. Her lips lingered after she had that revelation, clinging lightly to his smooth skin. How something as simple and chaste as a kiss on a cheek got her all worked up, she would never know.

She didn't step back when she broke the connection, just let the space between them crackle and spark.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He had no idea what she was thanking him for, and he went to ask her that, but he turned his head and found her lips – those soft, supple, just-touching-his-cheek lips – only inches away and the words died in his throat. They stared at each other for moments on end, breathing each other's air, saying nothing. It was magical in its own way.

He wanted to kiss her but it seemed…too easy. Or was it just easy enough? Was everything else just too complicated? His mind was spinning and overwhelmed with her presence and his eyes want to trace the line of her sternum and he could smell her and almost taste her and –

"You're welcome," he murmured huskily, trying to retain some dignity. Or, more aptly, trying to retain some of _her_ dignity. He wasn't entirely convinced that if he started kissing her, she wouldn't end up on his desk, naked.

"Do you even know what I'm thanking you for?" She asked after a minute, a small smile playing on her face.

He actually barked out a laugh. "No, I guess I don't."

That spurned her to gales of laughter, having never seen Ranger fumble his words. Her laughter caused her to step back and they both felt their senses gradually return to them, the moment passed.

"The tree," she eventually got out. "In the lobby. It's beautiful."

If Ranger was a shrugging man, he would have shrugged. He hadn't actually anticipated her coming to him and acknowledging the tree. After all, their Christmas gifts had gone largely unspoken about thus far.

As he couldn't remember the last time he had shrugged (he suspected sometime in middle school), he relegated himself to coming up with some sort of response.

"Consider it a gift."

"I love it."

He felt the atmosphere getting heavy again, and he was seconds away from saying _fuck it_ and just kissing her anyways and he eyed his desk surreptitiously, wondering how screwed he would be if he actually did sweep it all to the floor.

Stephanie must've seen his gaze and her own eyes lit up with the sight of his desk. A smile like the sunrise spread across her face, almost hurting her cheeks.

The tiny black tree.

It was impressive almost, how fast the emotions raced through her. She felt the rush of happiness, the spiral of anxiety as she remembered that there was a reason she had been avoiding this office, and then the hot liquid warmth pooling in all of her limbs.

This man. This infuriating, complicated, intricate, badass of a man. He might not have been hers _yet_, but she knew that that was what she wanted.

* * *

She left his office without tasting his lips, which was both a minor accomplishment and a travesty as far as she was concerned. His phone started ringing and she didn't want to ruin the mood with words (or, more precisely _her_ words, as she knew they wouldn't come out right) so she simply bowed out with a small wave as he took the call, looking less disappointed than he actually felt.

She sat down at her desk, only stopping briefly to give the finger to Bobby, who asked if he needed to go resuscitate Ranger. She cracked her knuckles as her computer booted up and pulled a small list she had compiled this morning in bed out of her purse and flattened it on her desk.

It was a list of possible restaurants that she thought would be good venues for the Christmas party, and more importantly, not booked. She decided to rack the brains of some other Rangemen first to get a feel for what this party was supposed to be like.

"Hey Tank," she said quietly as she knocked on the door. The big man said she could come see him anytime, but she felt a little guilty since this wasn't strictly work related. And he still scared her a little bit.

"Hey Bomber. You get that search from me and Batman done yesterday?"

She rolled her eyes and felt her face heat up. Connie was right – nothing got past these guys, not even innocuous paper clips.

"I don't know if I'd want him hearing you call him that." She might get away with that nickname, but she wasn't sure if Tank would make it away unscathed. "And I'm still waiting on that Washington state MVR for the last 7 years for your search. I'll get it to you this morning, I think."

"Yeah, Washington's a pain in the ass. No rush. Anyways, what can I do for you?"

He gave her his full attention, crossing his arms in front of him. She was struck with how massive the desk was; completely proportional to Tank, neither one looked out of place. She, however, felt like a tiny dollhouse doll being thrust in a regular house. His desk looked to be the size of her whole apartment.

"Do you have a second? I just had some questions about the Christmas party."

"What Christmas party?"

"Well, that's the thing, I still have to plan some stuff, so if you could maybe point me in the right direction of something you guys would all like-"

"We're having a Christmas party?"

Steph went to respond before stopping herself. Was she crazy, or was Tank right now?

"Huh?"

Maybe not the most eloquent reply, but it was all she could muster.

"Ranger gave you permission to throw us a Christmas party?"

"…Yes?" She squinched her eyes and reconsidered. "Well, kind of. Mostly. He knows it's going to happen. Permission is a really strong word."

"Boss man is getting in the holiday spirit, who would have ever thought?" Tank shook his head and chuckled, more to himself than anything. "Okay, little girl, how can I help?"

"Well, I was just wondering what you guys usually do. Then maybe I can go off that."

"We don't really usually do anything. Sometimes a few of us will go out for drinks after work near Christmas and Ranger will tell me to put it on the corporate card, but we don't have a Christmas party."

Steph internally groaned. Was this Ranger's idea of a joke? To make her plan something that no one even _wanted_? She tuned back in and Tank was still speaking.

"…Should be really great."

"Wait, what?" She smiled abashedly. "What were you saying?"

"A Christmas party should be fun, Steph. Just keep it simple and make sure I always have a full plate and I think it'll be a success." He smiled at her conspiratorially.

"I don't think there's enough food in the tri-state area to compete with all of you guys' stomachs, but I'll try. Does it have to be up to Rangeman's food intake policy, do you think?"

"The boss is letting _you_ plan a party. I think he's already resigned himself to everything covered in cheese and whipped cream."

"He'll be lucky if I don't cover everything with cheese and whipped cream at the same time," she joked, already planning out the menu in her head. "Oh, one more thing!"

"Yeah, little girl?"

"Okay, so the schedule says 'on call' for a lot of people during December. When do you think the best day is to do this on?"

Tank motioned for her to come closer and pulled up a copy of the schedule on one of his three monitors that sat in front of him. She had never come to this side of his desk – never had any need to – and she was once again shocked at how deep the desk was. It accommodated his size extremely well, and his legs took full advantage of the roominess underneath. She grinned when she saw a Hershey's Kiss wrapper in his trash, but decided not to say anything. Maybe later.

On one monitor the spreadsheet of the schedule was brought up, on another it looked like he had a contract open as well as FBI's Most Wanted list, and on the third were the same surveillance monitors that the men could see. She watched as the views would suddenly flip, and she realized that since he didn't have the full setup like the monitoring station did down the hall, he could rotate through to see all the clients when he had to. Interesting.

"Ok, so this is what December looks like for us. With the holidays, Ranger has been more lenient towards keeping just a skeleton crew on most nights so that everyone can enjoy some downtime. We have a job here," he pointed at December 13th, "So I would try to schedule it sometime this week," he pointed at the week of the 17th through the 22nd. "Gives us enough downtime to clear up any paperwork and get things squared away." He snuck her a telling look. "Also gives Ranger enough time to get contractors in here so most of the men can go."

"What does this mean?" She tapped the screen, on the 21st. It said that Ranger was on-call, but since he was the owner of the company, she assumed he was always on call. It wasn't marked anywhere on the calendar, but on the 21st and the 22nd, there it was, in black and white. She didn't know what it meant.

"That just means that Ranger won't be in the office or on the streets those two days. It's rare, which is why it's marked down, but not unheard of." He paused as if he was unsure if he should continue, before going on in a deceptively casual voice. "Think he's going to his folks that day or something."

She tried hard to look unaffected. It was just so…normal of him to take a day off and go see his parents (she assumed) around Christmas. It was endearing in a whole different way, one that she wasn't ready to dissect.

"How about the 20th?" She asked Tank, scanning the schedule still. "It looks as if that's when the skeleton crews really start up, so a lot of people have the next day off, and it's a Thursday, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find a place."

"I'd pass it by Ranger, but I think it's a solid option. Binkie, Hal, Cable, and Slick are working, but I bet Ranger could get in some contractors to work."

"Won't that be really expensive?"

"Ranger's a pretty good businessman, Steph. He'll figure it out."

She rolled her eyes, making her way to the door. "You know, that's the second time this week someone has reminded me that he's a good businessman. I'm _aware_, you know!"

Tank just smiled at her indulgently. "Anything else I can help you with?"

She grinned at that. "Nope, I'm gonna go ask Lieutenant Libido a few things, and I should be good. Thanks though!"

His booming laughter followed her out of his office.

* * *

She couldn't bring herself to call him Lieutenant Libido to his face, although there were a few leers down her top that made her want to, but Lester was surprisingly unhelpful. He insisted that everyone would eat whatever she chose, and it didn't matter the venue or location, just so long as they were all together.

It would have been much more convincing if he hadn't followed that with, "you and me together. You know, in the Biblical sense."

She shot Ranger an e-mail with a few prospective dates, saying that she'd prefer Thursday the 20th, but had a few backups just in case. She didn't mention the contract workers (he didn't need to bleed money over _Christmas_, despite his apparent willingness to do so) and she began calling around to see who had availability on those dates. She was almost surprised when her Washington MVR check came back.

_Oh yeah, Stephanie_, she reminded herself, _you do have another job here besides Christmas Elf._

She put the Christmas party lists to the side regretfully, but began to actually earn her salary.

* * *

When he received her e-mail, he was suddenly reminded of Christmas a whole, and his stocking that hung outside of his door. He certainly wasn't reminded of her (he had spent the last hour trying to think of anything _but_ her, and it was quite unsuccessful) but he suspected that the stocking now held today's treasure.

That is certainly what they are to Ranger. Treasures.

Each gift was more than just a token of appreciation for him; he felt like he got to know _Steph_ more as well. The music showed a deeper side of her, a side usually covered by Metallica or AC/DC. The miniature Porsche told him something he already knew: she still feels guilt over the littlest things, despite them being years ago. He understood that a Porsche wasn't exactly little per se, but he tried to minimize it as much as possible in her mind.

The Hershey Kisses were sweet in a lot of ways, just like Stephanie herself, and gave him a new appreciation for her creativity. The black Christmas tree was something very telling, in his opinion. He saw it as an understanding from her as to who he is, and what he is, but still trying to give him hope. She wasn't trying to change him, with a huge fiber optic monstrosity of a tree sitting in his office, but instead, she was giving him options. Not only options, but _outs_. She gave him an out for almost everything she concocted for him. He found that he respected her offer, but that they were unnecessary. He didn't need an out for her.

The remembrance of the Batman paperclips yesterday had him out of his seat and going to his door to check his stocking. It was a humorous reminder that while she considered him a superhero in many ways, he was only a mortal, and mortals have to go through paperwork. He had watched her on a monitor as she discovered he used the paperclip, and the pleasure she got from that was enough for him to swap out his old paperclips with those.

Sure enough, at the bottom of the stocking was a heavy square, about an inch thick. It was wrapped this time, unlike a few of the previous gifts, and he slid the paper off cautiously. His door was still open and he didn't want to attract too much attention by crinkling wrapping paper. With his luck, Lester would be right outside, waiting to pounce.

A folded up note slid out with the square, and he put it to the side, turning over the object carefully. He thought he knew what it was, but how Stephanie did was a mystery to him.

It was a tool he had carried with him on many missions overseas; a tool that had saved his life a few times. It was a multipurpose GPS tool, a solar powered one at that. The square had a motion sensor in it, so you could turn it on each side and it would flash different information on the front LCD. One side told the temperature, the other the time, the other was a GPS coordinate locator, and the other a compass. It was battery powered, yes, but the small solar panels embedded into it made it incredibly versatile. He had never had one at the office due to the fact that he always knew where he was in generals, if not specifics. But he knew he'd be keeping this in his car, and depending on its usefulness, might even get some for the core team.

He unfolded the note and smirked at Steph's crowded handwriting. She clearly hadn't anticipated how much she wanted to write, as it got smaller and smaller towards the end. Most women he knew would rewrite it until it came out perfect, but not his Babe.

_Ranger,_

_I know you probably already have one of these, but the guy at the store said that they were pretty indispensable. Can't ever have too many GPS devices apparently. (I would argue with that) Just thought this would be a nice reminder that whenever you go someplace, you can always come home._

_Love,_

_Steph_

He flipped the Post-It over, desperate to see more of her words, however sparse they might be, but was still somewhat surprised to see her handwriting on the back. No words, just numbers.

40.2169° N, 74.7433° W

He instantly plugged it into his desktop GPS locator, and it pulled up a very specific place.

Stephanie's apartment building.

And despite having this knowledge for the past three years and counting, Ranger was still left with a sense of peace and wellbeing. Maybe she was – no, maybe they _both_ were – ready to acknowledge that Ranger's home was wherever Steph was.


	9. December 8th

**A/N: Thank you again for all the kind reviews! I'm even starting to get a few critiquing my work, which is _much appreciated_. I don't have a beta so all mistakes are mine, so feel free to call me out on them. Happy Saturday, and to all those who celebrate – Chag Urim Sameach! (The irony of my celebrating Hanukkah while writing a Christmas story has not escaped me, but I have grown to celebrate both holidays. More about the the whole feel of the season for me, anyways!) Anyways, enjoy and be merry!  
**

* * *

Stephanie knew it was Saturday and yet here she was at her desk at Rangeman, plugging away.

She rationalized it in her head easily: she had to drop off Ranger's gift, it was easier to make Christmas party decisions with the guys nearby, she had a better internet connection than at her place, her mother couldn't get past the lobby even if she wanted to, et cetera. She was well aware that she just wanted to see Ranger for a moment, but her subconscious deigned that as too weak to admit aloud.

Instead, here she was, 11 am on a Saturday, eyes darting towards Ranger's door every few minutes, on hold with the manager of Biaggi's Italian restaurant, seeing if they could accommodate the size of her group.

Pathetic.

She had only gotten there about thirty minutes prior, and with Ranger's door shut, she had no way of knowing if he was out of the office or in his office, at least not without asking around. She had had enough teasing about the gifts to last her a lifetime, so she decided to exercise that little thing that some people called 'patience,' and just wait it out. It was torturous.

She thought for a second she could hear the manager on the other end of the phone _counting_ how many people could fit in his restaurant, and she knew that didn't bode well for her plans.

She asked Ranger how many people she should round up to, and he had surprised her with the answer. At any given time there were about 40 men in the office or out in the field – including part-timers who she barely knew. Ranger had told her that she could make the call on bringing significant others, but she decided against it at the last minute. She figured that while a few guys had wives, the others would resort to taking casual dates, and there was bound to be a few shocked women at all the testosterone in the room, let alone the firearms. Instead, she decided that with the booze flowing and the guys getting increasingly inappropriate, it was best to leave the wives and girlfriends at home.

Ranger had continued to surprise her when he asked if she'd have it planned by the end of the weekend, and if she wouldn't mind sending an invite to the heads of the other branches as well. This was daunting in its own way, because now not only was she saddled with completing this seemingly insurmountable task, but she knew for a fact that at least one of the other heads was Ranger's _brother_. She knew Mateo led the Boston branch, and while she had never met the man before, a company Christmas party didn't seem to be the best venue to her. The best venue to Stephanie would be someplace in another dimension.

He said to round up to 70 (_70?!_) people, just in case. She had no idea what that 'just in case' meant, but she figured that there was no such thing as too much food in the case of Rangemen employees.

"Hello? I'm sorry for the wait," a flustered voice came over the telephone.

"Oh, it's fine," she assured them. Biaggi's was one of her top contenders. Italian food, cozy setting, good bar? That was all Stephanie needed to guarantee herself a good time, and she knew that the same could be said for most of the men.

"I'm so sorry, we are undergoing renovations right now and we just don't think we'd be able to accommodate such a large number."

Stephanie sighed, but reassured them that it was alright, she had expected as much. Crossing the name off her list, she felt the tension that had settled in her shoulders start to buzz slightly. Ranger had to be close.

"Babe."

She spun around to see him, unable to help the smile that crossed her face. Guess he wasn't in his office then.

"Hi there."

He nodded subtly with his head, motioning for her to come with him, so she hopped up out of her chair and made her way with him to his office.

As he unlocked the door and the stocking rocked against it, he cocked one eyebrow at her. She shrugged, trying desperately to mimic his eyebrow. She was not successful.

He tossed her a smile before reaching in and grabbing the gift and making his way to his desk. His smile was a challenge to her, and she felt herself flush at the prospect of him "opening" a gift in front of her. He was changing the rules and she didn't know how she felt about that.

Once seated, and Stephanie settled across from him, he took a look at what he had pulled from the stocking.

"Babe."

"That's the only word you've said to me in five minutes."

His lips twitched at that, and he held up the gift, letting it dangle from his fingers.

A pair of miniature, shiny, silver handcuffs hung from his index finger, the loop wrapped securely around him. It was an ornament, maybe 2 and a half inches long, that she had picked up impulsively the week before Thanksgiving. Originally she had thought that she'd put it on her own tree, but with Ranger's stocking plan, she realized he'd appreciate it just as much, if not more. Their shared history of handcuffs was a special thing, even if it did make her blush.

"I know you don't have a tree or anything, but…"

He remained silent, his smile growing minutely, and gently hung it on his own tiny black Christmas tree there on his desk.

It was big for the tree- almost took up one whole side of it – and a bit heavier than it was meant for (which, Steph suspected, was no ornaments at all) but he just bent a wire branch to rest beneath it and support it more fully, and there it was.

It was a surreal moment for both of them. For one, Ranger never thought in a million years his office would ever have any decorations, let alone a lit up Christmas tree (even if it was black) with an ironic ornament hanging off it. And for Stephanie, she never thought she'd see the day where Ranger smiled this much, or was this much of a pushover for her dumb wants. It was amazing.

They traded smiles for a long moment, each of them reveling in their feelings.

"What's on your table for today?" Ranger asked, leaning over his desk slightly, wanting to be closer to her.

"Mostly party planning. I was thinking around 3 I'd brave the mall and try my hand at shopping."

He took a deep breath.

"Want some company?"

Her jaw dropped. Was he serious?

"You'd go to the mall? With me? Voluntarily?" She narrowed her eyes. "Do I have a stalker that I don't know about?"

"You can help me choose some things for Julie."

"That's not an answer, but I'm willing to let it go because it's Christmas time and I don't think I even want to know if I have another crazy after me. It'll dampen my spirit."

He shook his head, the smile still in place. That smile that Stephanie wanted to kiss right off his face.

"No crazies, Babe. Just me."

"And me," she countered, trying not to hyperventilate. Did that mean that Ranger was after her? God, she hoped so.

"Us."

She bit her lip to keep from smiling too large, and then moved to stand. No amount of lip biting was going to help her when Ranger stood from his chair too, an instinctual act of chivalry.

"3 work for you then?" She stood by the door, staring at him. Something had changed, she knew it.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then, Babe."

_Eek!_

* * *

She got to her desk and there was a Post-It with a scrawled note on top. She didn't recognize the handwriting, so she could rule out a few people, but she still didn't get what it meant. It said 'Capital Club 34.' Huh?

"Capital Club, huh Steph?"

Lester appeared from nowhere right behind her. He was in jeans and a t-shirt so she suspected he wasn't on duty either, just on his way out.

"Yeah, someone left me this note…" She trailed off, looking to see who else was on duty.

"Is that where we're having the Christmas party?"

"What?" Her attention was back on him. "No, it sounds like a strip club! We are not doing that."

Lester laughed loudly, throwing his head back. Steph waited expectantly.

"That's not a strip club, Steph. It's a business club downtown. Top floor of the Century building, looks out over the whole city. It'd be great for a party."

"I bet it costs more than my yearly salary."

"I bet it doesn't. We even do security for the Century, so I am sure it wouldn't be that bad. Besides, it's perfect for Rangeman's first Christmas party. Wasn't your first time special?" His voice dropped and he waggled his eyebrows leeringly.

Before Steph could respond, Bobby popped his head out by elevator.

"Yo, Santos, you ready to roll?"

"Later, Beautiful."

"Later Lieutenant Libido." The sweet smile did nothing to take the shock from her words and as he stumbled backwards toward Bobby's now increasingly agitated demands that he 'get his ass in gear,' Lester was racking his brain, trying to figure out who told her.

Grinning to herself, Stephanie began to do more research on the Capital Club.

* * *

She booked it, and she felt it gnawing away at her stomach.

It. Cost. So. Much.

She double checked with Tank (Ranger had been in a teleconference with his accountant since she last saw him) that the price was okay. It fit within Ranger's budget he gave her and covered absolutely _everything_, from the catering to the centerpieces to the valet, and even gave her a big enough leeway to guarantee an open bar for at least part of the night. (She knew how much these guys could drink, and she didn't want to make Rangeman file bankruptcy, hence the 'part of the night.')

She had to admit, if she put the cost aside, it was a good deal. She had to do virtually nothing. The event planner on their side just asked her tons of questions and she answered them as honestly as she could. Everything from what centerpieces she wanted (she said it had to be manly. No flowers and no flames. She expected a bowl of weeds.) to color schemes (black and silver with touches of green was as festive as she was willing to compromise) to food (she received several sample menus in her inbox but had yet to choose one). She felt lighter, yet heavier.

She knew Tank was being honest (_"If he gave you that much money to spend, then he wants you to spend it"_) but it was just more than she felt comfortable with. As was the usual case with Ranger.

Finally, 3 o' clock rolled around and she felt Ranger standing behind her.

He had changed from badass Ranger to someone she barely recognized. Gone were his black cargos but instead he was wearing tight fitting (around his butt anyway, which was where her eyes were drawn to first) dark gray jeans, a white thermal shirt (she always deemed them 'waffle shirts'), and a badass black leather bomber jacket.

"Ready, Babe?"

She nodded before gathering her stuff and slipping on her black trench and tightening the belt. She was wearing jeans and heeled boots, which she knew was tempting fate, but she felt better about the whole day if Ranger was going to be by her side. He wouldn't let her fall on her ass.

He directed her towards the Cayenne, which he didn't usually use, but she wasn't going to complain at all. Just because it wasn't the 911 didn't mean it wasn't _magic_. Besides, she was pretty sure this was a Turbo too. She could slum it for now.

She hadn't realized she had been quiet until he had actually questioned it.

"Something on your mind, Babe?"

"I booked the party venue," she blurted out.

When she wasn't forthcoming with more information, Ranger found he actually had to pry. "For Thursday the 20th?" She nodded. "Where?"

He watched her fidget, playing with the buttons on her coat, but he waited her out regardless.

"Capitalclub34."

"Where was that, Babe?"

"Capital Club 34," she confessed.

"We provide security over there; should be easy to secure. Nice job."

"Don't you want to know how much it cost?"

"Did it go over budget?"

"No."

"Did you put it all down up front?"

"…No, I did a deposit."

"Did you agree to a date with the manager for a lower price?"

"What? No, Ranger!" She was getting exasperated.

"I'm just failing to see why I could be concerned about this price."

"That budget was ridiculous! I might not have used it all, but I used more than I wanted to."

"Babe, you wanted to have the party in the conference room and have Ella cook. I'm not surprised you spent more than you wanted to."

Silence fell between the two of them, yet he knew the conversation wasn't over. When she quietly admitted the price, like he knew she would, he let a smile creep across his face.

He reached over and placed his hand on her thigh, stroking lightly.

"It's a Christmas party, Steph. Rangeman had a very successful fourth quarter and an even more successful year. This is not breaking the bank, or even putting a dent in it. My men deserve some downtime and I am happy to foot the bill. Don't worry about it."

Her hand tentatively went over his, resting lightly. When he shifted his hand to allow his fingers to take hers, she responded immediately, holding on tightly.

They kept them that way until they reached the mall.

* * *

"You know, I don't know the last time I was in a mall just to shop," Ranger commented after about a half hour.

"You don't say?" Steph tossed back sarcastically, to which Ranger raised his eyebrow at. "Ranger, you've been on edge this whole time. I know it's a bit of a madhouse, but the likelihood of a terrorist attack is pretty slim."

He would've blushed if he hadn't had such great control over his body's involuntary reactions. It was true; he was on edge. He wasn't on the alert for terrorists per se, and his type of enemy wouldn't frequent the mall during Christmas. It was Steph's skips that he was trying to keep an eye out for, lest they cause any trouble during what is supposed to be a relaxing afternoon out.

"Come on," Steph said suddenly, taking his hand in hers and pulling him to a nearby store. It was a small accessories store and he realized Julie would probably like some stuff here.

"Would these make you feel better?"

He took his eyes off the shelves (he had been mentally categorizing the inventory and how appropriate it was for Julie) when he looked back and saw Steph wearing a comically large pair of sunglasses. When his only response was a smirk, she knew she had to try harder.

"What about this?" She threw a feather boa around her neck.

"Babe."

"Ranger." She rolled her eyes and took the sunglasses off, leaving the boa. "You've been protecting me so long that I'm not even sure you realize you're doing it. But you can relax. We're in the mall; it's my territory. Maybe this time I'll protect _you_."

He took the ends of the boa and pulled her to him, making sure their bodies touched completely.

"I will try to relax," he murmured.

"That's all I can ask," she said softly in return, gazing into his eyes. She abruptly realized where they were (she was sure he was always completely aware) and fought to regain some control of the situation. "What do you think of this Julie? It's fun." She gestured to the boa.

Ranger took her hands in his, where he still held the ends of the boa, and looked like he was thinking about smiling.

"Again, Babe, I don't know how I feel about getting Julie something that makes me have those kind of thoughts about you."

He stepped away, turning to find some large, goofy sunglasses that Julie would like.

Stephanie felt her cheeks get hot and as she went to involuntarily place a hand to them, she realized sharply that she couldn't.

He tied them – tied _her_ – up. The boa was in an intricate knot that was secure but didn't cut off any circulation to her hands. She didn't even feel him do it, didn't feel the tug of the boa or the manipulation of her hands. Her mind suddenly had an onslaught of images and scenes and ideas that Ranger might have had as he told her that this boa gave him _thoughts_ and then…

_Holy hot flash, Batman_.

* * *

They stayed at the mall for a few hours, and Stephanie was inordinately pleased with how she was able to help with things for Julie. She even insisted on paying for a few things, citing them as her own gifts for the girl.

Once Ranger was able to relax even the tiniest bit, it made a difference with how the rest of the shopping trip went. He was tugging her to other stores, spending a brazen amount on Julie, and even demanded she try on a few things. It was a casual, playful side of Ranger that Stephanie didn't understand at first, but was so glad she was getting a chance to.

She was still disappointed when he dropped her back at Rangeman to get her car and didn't kiss her. If he was having all these…_thoughts_ about her, why was he so reluctant to kiss her? Or ask her to stay for dinner? He had sent her off with a tender caress of her face and a kiss on the forehead, and that was supposed to be enough for her?

She thought of her coming gifts and realized that if he was determined to be chaste, she was going to do have to step up her game. She was more than willing.


	10. December 9th

**A/N: Sorry, lazy start to this morning! This chapter is less heavy on dialogue and more on you know - _everything else_. I hope you like it!**

* * *

Stephanie knew next to nothing about poetry, and for all intents and purposes, she intended to keep it that way. But, in a way that only Ranger could accomplish, she found herself a few months ago at home, flipping through a compilation of Carl Sandburg poems and actually _reading_ them.

It was a stakeout in early June when Ranger and she sat watching a house, waiting for a drug dealer to come make a home delivery, when he brought it up. It was innocuous at first; Stephanie actually thought he was losing it when he started saying disjointed sentences. Finally, he revealed it was poetry he was quoting. She had made a flippant comment that she now felt bad about, but he had remained calm and stoic as always, just reminding her not to knock it until she tried it.

He knew she had never read any poetry more than the mandated poems in school. As if it wasn't obvious.

A month later she was in a book shop, intent on buying her mom new cookbooks for her birthday, when she saw a leather-bound book of poems by Carl Sandburg, a guy she had heard Ranger bring up more than once.

She saw it as an opportunity to better herself and to maybe understand Ranger a bit more. She also admitted to feeling slightly outclassed (which wasn't a foreign feeling at all to her) by Ranger being so cultured and worldly. A book of poems to flip through and quote occasionally didn't seem like that big of a task.

It laid by her bedside for another month or so, before a particularly bad day when she was hiding out from the world led her to picking it up, if just to give her something else to think about other than the train wreck of her life. She began reading it before bed, and she started to understand why Ranger liked the guy so much.

Sandburg wrote about a lot of industrial stuff, which she skipped over generally, but he also wrote about war. He wrote about losing brothers, about being a killing tool, about the effects afterwards. It hurt her heart to know that Ranger could empathize with these poems so much.

He also wrote about love occasionally, and she knew those were her favorites. It wasn't a simple love, but a complex one. In some poems it would never come to fruition, in others it spiraled out of control. In October she found herself, pencil in hand, going through the book as if it were a letter to someone.

She would circle things she found funny, or jot down tiny notes in the margins. Sometimes she wrote more than the page could hold, shoving her letters in until they became illegible. It was cathartic, almost, to be able to release some feelings and emotions in this way that she had never known possible.

She's not entirely sure when she decided to give it to Ranger. It was before the stocking idea; it was previously going to be his main gift. She started going through it, adding more personal notes, highlighting her favorite passages. She thought about erasing some of her more idle thoughts, but decided she'd keep them for him. He always did seem to like some of her more random idiosyncrasies.

She chose a Sunday because that way she could slip it into his stocking and disappear. She didn't _have_ to see him (she had actually recruited Ella to put the wrapped book into his stocking) and she didn't have to witness any false reactions he might put on for her. It was a private thing, what she was doing, for both of them. She hoped it panned out alright.

* * *

If he had thought that Stephanie could not surprise him any more after the stocking idea itself, Ranger was at a complete loss with what he held in his hands.

When he unwrapped and saw the book of poetry, he thought it had been sweet enough. He was touched that she remembered a poet that he thought highly of and had quoted to her several times. The book looked well worn, and he wondered if it was an early edition. That idea was negated when he flipped to the first pages and saw that it was a fairly recent print, and yet, the spine didn't crack when he opened it. This book had been well loved.

He thumbed through quickly at first, to see which poems were included. He was sure he probably already had the same collection upstairs in his bookcase, but it was the thought that counted. He was flipping so fast that he didn't notice any of the notes until he slowed down to read one of his favorite poems.

In tiny scribbles, some of them so smudged he could barely read them, were notes. Notes upon notes of Stephanie's innermost thoughts. He skipped past his poem and continued going through the book, surprised to see notes on almost all of the pages, even if it was just a circle around a phrase and a smiley face. (How very completely Stephanie-like.)

He quickly took the book and headed back upstairs to 7, where he could read in peace and comfort. He actually had to tell himself to slow down; it would only serve to alarm the men if he ran past them and up to his apartment.

Finally settled on his couch with a mug of herbal tea next to him, he started to absorb the book. He read the first few pages, awed with Steph's fresh outlook on his favorites, before skipping to the poem he had almost read earlier.

It was titled _'Killers_,' and Stephanie had clearly put it together as well, the parallels of the poem to his life. To his duty to his country.

_I am put high over all others in the city today. I am the killer who kills for those who wish a killing today._

The first lines echoed deeply within him, as usual. Most days he feels like a killer. A hired killer, a righteous killer, a fair killer, but a killer all the same.

Stephanie had written, in her tiny, cramped script, a brief note underneath those two lines.

"_You do what others can't, Ranger_."

It's true; if everyone could kill such as him, the world would cease to exist. Most days, that is enough to keep him going. Other days, it is almost enough to make him stop.

He knew that most of the time, Stephanie was unaware of what she did for him. She oftentimes felt as if she were in his debt, that the monetary support he occasionally provided for her was somehow overshadowing everything she gave him. He knew, every day, that she gave him a gift he could barely describe, let alone thank her for. The fact that she understood what he did and didn't judge him for it, didn't let it influence any of her decisions regarding him – that was the amazing part about Stephanie that he loved.

He continued reading the poem, the lines echoing in his soul, his lips forming the words before his eyes caught up. He knew these verses, inside and out.

The last lines were where Stephanie wrote another note underneath. The body of the poem was bare of any scribbles, leaving him alone with his thoughts. The end, though…

"_I am the high honorable killer today._

_There are five million people in the state, five million killers for whom I kill_

_I am the killer who kills today for five million killers who wish a killing."_

There were eraser marks and smudges and he could tell she put a lot of thought into what she would write there. In the end, her words were almost more than he could handle.

"_I will do what you can't: I accept you. I forgive you."_

It was a strange feeling settling over him.

He did not lead his life on a quest for forgiveness. There was no cosmic scorecard that he used as a tally for the lives he's taken versus the lives that he has saved. He was never looking for approval from someone else, least of all a woman that had never experienced the same things he had.

But her words struck something so deep inside of him that he didn't even know how to categorize them. Her acceptance was something that he instinctually knew that he had, but seeing it written down eased an ache that he had never acknowledged.

He had never wronged Stephanie. Well, that wasn't completely true. He had been asinine and dishonorable and a whole host of other things, but he had never intentionally hurt her. At first, he thought that's what her forgiveness was relating to. She was forgiving him for ever being a jerk to her, for making comments that would later come back to bite him in the ass, for ever making her doubt his sincerity and commitment to her, even if he couldn't make it official.

The more he read her lines over and over again, the more he started to question that. It didn't make sense why she would put that at the end of a poem about murder. He eventually just stared at it until it clicked for him. Her two lines were not as separate as they seemed.

_I will do what you can't. I forgive you._

She knew that he battled with his actions internally, despite him never saying anything. He suspected the poems in the book had opened her up to this realization, and briefly questioned himself for ever mentioning Sandburg to her.

He knew that there were a lot of things in his life that he couldn't change. He accepted fate where it was necessary, and had resigned himself a long time ago to a life of darkness, followed by whatever realm of hell he fell into. He had done a lot of unthinkable acts in his time, and knew they would not go forever unpunished.

So yes, while he might not be looking for forgiveness from society, from Colonels and Majors, or from people who just simply would never understand why he did what he did, he was, in a sense, always looking for forgiveness from himself. He always hoped there'd be a day when he'd wake up and feel okay about everything, feel content with his life, with his choices.

It never happened.

But if he couldn't forgive himself, she would do it for him.

The next best thing.

He flipped through the book for hours, ignoring his calls, sending out the occasional text to the core team if they demanded a response.

He hadn't had a Sunday like this in a long time.

While a part of him ached to go see Stephanie, to crawl into bed with her or watch from shadows, he knew that he was too raw. Too exposed and too vulnerable. She had extrapolated what she wanted from the poetry, and was all too correct on some counts. He didn't regret anything and he certainly wouldn't change this gift for anything, but he did have some sort of preservation instinct.

No, he would see her tomorrow and get his bearings intact until then.

He also thought maybe the poems had affected her in much the same way, and perhaps she'd like a day to herself before being thrust back into real life.

He had witnessed the evolution of her reading, as the poems became more and more important to her, more symbolic. This was why he loved poetry in the first place. It can be as personal or impersonal as you'd like. You choose.

There was one poem which he suspected was a favorite to her. It had no writing around it, remained pristine save for the last line. It was, in fact, a poem that he would associate with Stephanie, although she seemed to be twisting the words for him. It was called "Joy," which always had and always will be a perfect word to describe Steph. She was joy personified, after all.

"_Joy always,_

_Joy everywhere –_

_Let joy kill you!  
Keep away from the little deaths."_

She had underlined the last line about four times before writing, in tiny, almost illegible letters below it, "please."

Hours passed and he slipped his phone out, intent on calling her. He thought better of it eventually, and decided to shoot her a text. It was a very informal mode of communication, one that he usually didn't resort to with Steph, but decided this could be enough for today.

_To: Stephanie_

_From: Ranger_

_What poem was your favorite?_

He waited impatiently for a response. He hadn't thought that she'd be waiting for a 'thank you' text, or anything of the sort. His phone chimed a few minutes later, and he internally rolled his eyes with how fast he grabbed at it.

_To: Ranger_

_From: Stephanie_

_Page 196. Whenever you're ready._

He flipped the book almost instantaneously, not even pausing to dwell on her words until he finished the poem. It was short, one of the shortest in the book with only 4 lines.

"_THE single clenched fist lifted and ready,_

_Or the open asking hand held out and waiting._

_Choose:_

_For we meet by one or the other."_


	11. December 10th

**A/N: Okay, so, to be honest, I thought that last chapter was going to be sort of a drag for all of you to read, what with the lack of dialogue and the somewhat slow pace of it, and the me-shoving-poetry-down-your-throats and all that, but you guys surprised me! The kind, **_**lovely**_** words that you all shared with me were amazing. It is always my goal to evoke that kind of emotion in readers and, just wow. You guys are incredible.**

**This is a shorter chapter (sorry!) but I hope it eases the sting from your Monday!**

* * *

She fidgeted with another piece of paper before putting it back down.

She had been doing this for two hours.

It was hovering around ten a.m., and she was sitting at her desk at Rangeman, and she could not get the nerve up to go see Ranger.

She knew he was in his office. But the fact that she knew that meant that he _definitely_ knew she was at her desk, and he had made the same amount of effort towards seeing her.

She hadn't even gotten up to put today's gift in his stocking! His door was closed so there was no real risk of him seeing her, yet she was still hesitant. She worried that maybe she had pushed him too far yesterday; that he hadn't been ready for what she was putting out there. But he had texted her…

It was all so frustrating for Stephanie. She wanted nothing more to take back yesterday's gift, to put today's in its place and resume their fun, commitment-free relationship. _Stupid Stephanie_.

She picked up today's gift and turned it over in her hand. It was so simple and silly. Almost nothing in comparison to yesterday's.

It was an 'airplane' bottle of tequila. She thought that they were maybe called 'nips,' but she wasn't sure. She saw it at the package store a few weeks earlier, and she remembered several stories from Lester that involved Ranger and tequila and hilarity. (Ranger might take back any guilt he felt about spilling a story about Lester if he knew the things he had shared with Steph.)

In the back of her mind, Steph thought it was a humorous companion gift to the poetry book. She had, after all, essentially spilled her feelings towards him yesterday. How better to get him to reciprocate than his very own liquid courage?

Instead, she was out here at her cubicle, debating the merits of chugging the tequila herself in order to get the nerve up to go see Ranger at all. Oh, how the tables had turned.

"Babe."

Out of nowhere, his voice sounded behind her. She abruptly dropped the bottle of tequila in her hands, causing it to skitter across her desk. Shit.

"Rangeman does have a 'no alcohol on duty' policy, Babe."

She held up the bottle between her fingers daintily.

"Today's gift?" She feebly offered.

He motioned for her to come to his office with him, and she obediently rose and followed him. If he was going to crush her dreams, might as well do it behind closed doors.

And he did close the doors after she entered. He shook his head a bit when he saw her standing awkwardly in the middle of his office, like a deer in headlights.

"Don't look so scared, Stephanie."

"Anytime you call me by my first name is reason to be scared." Instead of responding, he cocked an eyebrow, asking her to elaborate. "You usually say it when you're mad or disappointed in me."

"I've never been either of those things with you. In fact, usually I make a point of telling you that you _never_ disappoint me."

She supposed that was true. It certainly was a Ranger-ism.

"I know I make you mad when I don't listen to what you want me to do, Ranger." They were still standing in the middle of his office, both of them, with Stephanie clutching the tiny bottle of Jose Cuervo. She simultaneously wanted and dreaded someone walking in on them.

"You might frustrate me sometimes, but I am certainly not _angry_ with you. The closest I ever feel to anger is when you don't take your safety seriously enough."

"Or your men's safety," she supplemented.

Ranger paused, unsure how to get his message across clearly.

"My men work for a security company. They understand the level of danger that comes with their position. But you…" He rubbed a hand over his face, a very uncharacteristic thing for him to do. "Make no mistake, Stephanie. I would not be able to handle anything happening to you."

A heavy silence descended upon the room.

Finally, "I couldn't handle it if something happening to you, either."

"You don't have to worry about that," he said tenderly. He moved a tendril of hair behind her ear, gazing down at her. She raised an eyebrow in contention (_oh, who was she kidding? It was two eyebrows._) and he just smiled benignly. "I'm avoiding those little deaths."

Her whole body flooded with warmth.

He was remembering the poems. He was remembering _yesterday_. He was referencing it! These were all wonderful signs to Steph: signs that she hadn't lost her mind altogether.

They shared a secret smile, one that spoke volumes of their feelings towards each other. He went to take her hand, to pull her in for a kiss that would render them both speechless for tens of minutes afterwards, when he realized she was still holding something.

She held it up guiltily, cursing herself for bringing it with her. It had just cost her a kiss.

"Someone's telling stories," he said, taking the bottle from her fingers. "And I think I know who."

She watched as a smile spread across his face and let out a breath.

"You're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad at Lieutenant Libido sharing a few good natured war stories," he admitted, his smile now coming dangerously close to lighting up the room.

He took a few steps, putting the new bottle down next to the growing pile of trinkets that were taking up residence on the desk. He was surprised to find that he didn't mind. Sure, it cluttered it up a bit and made it less than pristine, but at the same time, he looked at that small section of his desk and it was a reminder that he was loved. And he knew that's what it was, even if Steph hadn't gone right out and said it. He had known for a few years that she had shared some love for him, but these gifts were something _more_. More than the two of them.

"You trying to get me liquored up, Babe?" He turned to sit on his desk slightly, a position that was now becoming familiar every time Stephanie was in his office. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't stand to have that heavy piece of furniture separate them.

"Think I'll need more than that, Batman, but I'm willing to try," she teased. "Heard it's like truth serum to you."

"To a degree," he acknowledge with a tip of his head, the smile still evident. "But I'm an open book, Babe. Anything you want to know, you can ask. If I can't answer I'll at least tell you that."

She let out a harsh laugh unintentionally.

"I'm sorry, Ranger. But you and 'open book' in the same sentence? It's a little funny."

"I will give you that."

Always surprising him, Stephanie walked over and stood a mere few feet away, encroaching on his space and ensnaring his senses. He loved it.

"I like it when you tell me stories," she confessed. "I like getting to know you more."

"Babe, you know me more than anyone in this office."

"What about Tank?"

"Tank does not know me as…_intimately_ as you do," he said with a hungry gaze, causing Stephanie to flush in all sorts of ways.

"Thank God," she muttered.

"Yes, thank God," he murmured, leaning towards her, eyes drawn instinctively to her lips.

She felt her eyes flutter shut in anticipation of what she hoped to be the best kiss of her life. She was ready for this. She wanted this. She _needed_ this.

When she could feel his breath on her lips and came to the realization that if she so much as twitched her lips, they'd come in contact, she let in a deep inhale, preparing herself.

"Bossman!"

Quicker than she understood, Ranger had smoothly moved her behind him, practically sitting on his desk, and stood in front of her, hiding her from view.

"What?" Ranger barked.

Lester took that as his cue to enter, apparently.

"Got a line on Ari Kochenko, he's down in Garfield."

Stephanie decided, in a fit of frustration about another lack of a kiss, to trail her fingers down Ranger's spine. She watched in fascination as his muscles bunched and tensed and relaxed. After the third swipe, she actually saw goosebumps on his forearms. _Success!_

"So go get him." His voice was strained, even with the thin veil of neutrality he had mastered.

"Uh, international contract needs your hand in it, Ranger." Lester knew he was aware of all the laws – even the ones he didn't follow – in regards to captures like this. This was one that he followed. "What's the –" He saw a flash of her pale skin as she peeked over Ranger's shoulder. "Hey Beautiful, whatcha doing back there?"

"None of your concern, Lieutenant," she bit back, causing all eyebrows in the room to rise. Ranger looked over his shoulder at her and if he hadn't known better, he'd say she was pouting. It was adorable.

"I've got to clear some things around," Ranger told Lester. "I'll be down in 8."

Steph almost snorted at the preciseness of his estimate, but held back. Ranger lived his whole life with efficient precision.

"Tank already moved your two o'clock with the Capistranos."

Ranger just stared.

"Ooookay then, see you downstairs."

As Lester hightailed it out of there, Ranger turned back around to Stephanie.

"Who knows what he thinks you were doing back there now."

"What could I have been doing? You were facing away and we were both fully clothed," she muttered sullenly, drawing a grin out of Ranger.

"This is probably going to take all day," he told her, glancing at the clock. "How about dinner tomorrow? We'll go out."

"Out?"

"Yes, Babe, out. There are some other people in this world that can cook besides Ella, you know."

Fake indignation shone on her face.

"Did you just mock me?"

He just grinned widely, stealing her breath.

"Is that a yes?"

She leaned up, planted another soft kiss on his cheek (Ranger thought he could get used to that indefinitely) and started to walk out of her office, a little more swing in her hips.

"Maybe," she said with a look over her shoulder. "If you change your attitude."

They both knew it was a yes.


	12. December 11th

**A/N: Real author's note at the bottom so as to not give anything away ;)**

* * *

She had switched the gifts for today and tomorrow and she was suddenly second guessing her actions.

Since they had plans to have dinner out tonight, she thought maybe it could be a celebratory dinner with today's gift. But, at the same time, she was nervous that that was incredibly presumptuous of her. She didn't want to make the focus completely on her – after all, it was still a gift for _Ranger_. She thought he'd be proud and happy for her. That he'd want to celebrate her accomplishment.

She stared at it for another minute (this time being _much_ more observant about what was going on around her. She didn't need him to come surprise her this morning like yesterday, completely spoiling the gift) and sighed. She had to give it to him sometime, right?

She traced the words with her fingers.

"_Stephanie Plum, licensed Bond Enforcement Agent in the state of New Jersey."_

It was a copy of her brand spankin' new BEA license.

Stephanie knew that Ranger and the rest of the Rangeman had a completely different set of licenses, ones that allowed him to go on different contracts (like picking up Russian mobsters as he did yesterday), but she now knew that she was an insurance liability without having any license whatsoever.

She had been doing some bland data entry for Tank, entering in premiums and deductions for the purpose of insurance reconciliation at month-end, when she came across something she hadn't seen before. Tank had explained it as sort of 'malpractice' insurance. It was too small of an amount to be for the whole company, and she had finally wheedled it out of him: it was for her. Her and her unlicensed ass was costing Ranger _more_ money. He had never even said anything to her, which was the real kicker. He was content to let her go on working for him as he bled money (okay, so maybe it wasn't _that_ much) and never force her to do something she didn't want to. What really tipped her over the edge was the fact that Rangeman was also footing the bill for that insurance for Vinnie, as well. For both her _and_ Lula. The man's generosity knew no bounds, but it was time for her to stand on her own feet.

She had made Tank swear under penalty of death and humiliation – not necessarily in that order – to keep her goal from Ranger. He told her what she had to do in order to fall under Ranger's regular insurance and not cost him anymore money and that was to become a fully licensed bounty hunter in the state of New Jersey. Or to become a super soldier for the U.S. Army. She chose the former.

New Jersey didn't actually require a license, although they were starting to institute a new policy, which is where her beautiful, shiny, wallet-sized ID came from. It was optional at this point, with the possibility of becoming mandatory in the future. Right now, the licensing would help solely with credibility and insurance. Tank had told her multiple times that Rangeman would foot the bill since it was for job training, but she resisted. Not only would that have given it away to Ranger, but she wasn't doing this _solely_ for him either. She was doing it for herself. She wanted to be better. She wanted Ranger to see that she could be better. She was determined, to say the least.

It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. That being said, it still sucked.

It cost $300 to apply and she had to have the written endorsement of "five reputable citizens." This was particularly hard for Stephanie, as who she considered 'reputable,' not many other people did. That would've been all she needed _if_ she had the prior experience necessary. She didn't have five years of experience as a law enforcement officer or a private detective, so that left her with the last option: a two day training course run by the police.

If she had to single out the worst part, she would say it was the blow out she had with Joe when he saw her show up for the class at the station in jeans and a black Rangeman shirt. Apparently the idea that she was actually bettering herself for _Ranger_ grated on him in a spectacular fashion, because he exploded. They hadn't even been dating at this point, and she was surprised at how calmly she handled the situation. She tried futilely to explain that it was for her, not him, nor anybody for that matter, but he was unwilling to listen. Instead, he yelled, threw a cup of pens at the wall, and was strongly encouraged to take a four day weekend while Stephanie finished the course.

It was awful.

They had eventually made some sort of peace, but he was still frustrated with her and she was still angry with him and their friendship seemed to be a thing of the past. She couldn't say she regretted the course, even if it did lead to the demise of her and Joe's rapport.

Other than that, the course was pretty standard. No physical element, which she was _immensely_ grateful for, but it was a lot of boring stuff. It was mostly comprised of history, constitutional law, search and seizure rights, stuff like that. She admitted to learning some stuff, but also admitted to feeling relieved that there wasn't a test at the end. She might have doodled over most of the handouts.

So that led her to where she was now: sitting at her desk, staring at a photocopy of her license and debating the merits of using it as a gift or just having Tank shove it in her personnel file. _Gah_.

She eventually decided to just use it, mostly because she didn't have the other day's gift with her and she didn't relish the idea of being a whole day off on gifts. She already had this planned out to a T, no need to muck it up now.

She slipped it in a manila folder and stuck a bow on it. She didn't want to fold it up and shove it in the stocking, so this would have to work. She wrote a hastily scrawled note that simply said 'for my file,' and waited for Ranger to leave his office.

It took almost an hour.

In that hour, she accomplished nothing of great value, at least in relation to her job. She did choose a menu for the Christmas party, so she allowed herself to feel pride in that regard. Mostly she just sat and waited.

When she saw him emerge from his office and not shut the door behind him, she knew she was in luck. That meant he was just going to linger around the floor, maybe go to the conference room, but not leave the building. She immediately darted out of her cube and into the middle row of cubicles, using the desks and their walls as a barrier between her and Ranger.

She felt a burgeoning impulse to do a somersault and make it _really_ covert ops-like, but a.) she hadn't done a somersault since fifth grade (at least not on purpose), b.) she didn't really know how the physics of that would work, and if it would result in a crumpled up folder, and c.) she did not need to give the guys more fodder to make fun of her. Crouching and half-running would have to do.

She saw Ranger go into Tank's office and she hoped to dear god that he didn't have the hallway monitors up on his desktop right now, or if he did, he could buy her more time. She snuck in and left the folder on his desk, red bow practically shining on top, and ran back to her cubicle.

It wasn't a far run by any means, but that, coupled with the adrenaline, left her heart pounding and her breath panting. Binkie gave her a confused look as she almost collapsed at her desk but seemed to let it go, thankfully.

There was no taking it back now!

She brought up a spreadsheet she was supposed to be working on, smiling at herself when she realized it was for insurance reconciliations. She wondered if it was too audacious of her to delete the line of her own name under 'other insurance.' She decided against it, preferring someone else do it. She wanted to spread the satisfaction.

She had apparently debated that for longer than she realized because suddenly, Ranger's disembodied voice came from her phone.

"Babe?"

She picked up her handset, only fumbling slightly (who was she kidding? She was so surprised she dropped the damn thing twice) before managing a breathless greeting. He never called her on the phone like this.

"Come see me when you get a chance?"

"Now?" She gulped.

"If you're free."

She hung up and made her way to his office, completely unsure of what to expect. Was he angry? It'd be ironic in a major sort of way if he got angry with her the day after assuring her that he never did.

"Knock, knock." She peeked around the corner into his office, spying him at his desk. He had the copy of her license in front of him, and she smiled when she saw that the bow had somehow made it into the pile of knickknacks he had accumulated from her.

"Close the door, Babe."

Uh oh.

"Did you pay for this yourself, Babe?"

_Okay, not the question she was expecting_.

"Uh, yes…" At his somewhat questioning look, she worked to correct herself. "I mean, - wait. No. I mean, yes. I paid for it." She was getting all flustered and he just sat there, looking as calm and serene as ever. Infuriating!

"Rangeman covers all job-related training, Stephanie." Oh no, first name business. "Take this expense report and have Tank sign off on it."

She took the form, looking at it for a second before placing it back on Ranger's desk.

"Look, I appreciate the offer, but it's not necessary."

"It's company policy, Babe. No special treatment from me."

"Well, I hadn't even considered that until right now, so thank you, but I was thinking more along the lines of what I cost you. The cost for me to get licensed was maybe _half_ of what you've been paying for me every month."

A flicker of surprise went across Ranger's face as he realized she was aware of the insurance premium he paid.

"Ranger," she sighed, not knowing how to get her point across. "I know you always said that it was no price, and I know that it's true when it comes to us, but if you're paying a price that you don't _have_ to be, I think it's my job as an employee and…and a friend, to lessen that."

He steepled his fingers, resting his chin, studying her. She felt like an animal at a zoo for all the perusing he seemed to be doing. He remained silent, which in her current state, Stephanie just couldn't handle, so she kept going.

"I mean, I understand that it benefits your company and stuff, but ultimately, I didn't do it for you or for Rangeman. I did it for me. So I could get better. For myself," she rambled.

At that, Ranger stood up from behind his desk and made his way to where she was standing (she was far too jittery to have sat down for that conversation) and cradled her face in his hands.

"That might have been the sexiest thing you've ever said," he murmured.

"God, I hope not," she managed to get out before his lips covered hers.

It was so sweet and intense that she would later get angry at herself for not being able to recall every single detail of that kiss. But at the time, she was so consumed, so wrapped up in it, that memorizing everything about it seemed to take a backseat.

His hands never strayed from her face as hers clutched his shoulders, desperately trying to find purchase while simultaneously wanting to melt into him. His thumbs stroked her cheekbones gently as his tongue caressed hers, evoking feelings she hadn't even realized possible. This kiss…this kiss was _everything_.

She let out a small moan of appreciation when she realized he still tasted like Ranger. It was smoky and sweet and overwhelmingly _him_. When they finally separated for air, he rested his forehead against hers, both of them still breathing heavily. Stephanie wanted to capture this moment, to bottle it, to save it for those days where nothing seemed to go right. She wanted it to last forever.

"Babe," he breathed. It wasn't a question, or the start of a sentence, or anything. Instead, it sounded like a prayer almost. Slightly shaky with a distinct sense of reverence behind it. It was music to Stephanie's ears. Her new favorite song.

They stood like that for a minute at least, maybe more. He finally tipped her head up and placed one last kiss on her lips, savoring the light cling as they separated.

"Should've gotten that thing a long time ago," she joked. He gave her a secret smile at that, the one he reserved just for her. Teeth bared, eyes crinkled – it made him more than sexy. It made him dangerous.

"As much as I want to have you to myself tonight," he said softly, placing a light kiss below her ear, trying to keep himself from actually nuzzling like a cat, "once I post that you got your BEA license, the guys are going to want to take you out to celebrate."

"I want to celebrate with you," she almost whined, but it came out more like a breathless moan as she turned her head to give him better access.

"I can tell them you're busy, but there's no guarantee they won't follow us to a restaurant."

His tongue was tracing a pattern on her pulse and she found her fingers digging into his biceps, trying desperately to hold on.

"We'll see," she got out noncommittally. She wasn't convinced that the guys were going to be _this_ excited to take her out and celebrate a license that she didn't even legally need.

A booming knock sounded on the door and if Stephanie knew anything about booms, she knew that it only could belong to one person.

Ranger's teeth dug into her neck for a sharp millisecond before he pulled away, brushing her hair in front of her neck, to either remove temptation or hide evidence, she wasn't sure.

"Yes?"

He always did have a bit more time for niceties when it came to Tank.

The door popped open and the big man himself strode in.

"Shooting down on Stark during apprehension of Vick Masters."

Instantly, Ranger was all business.

"Any of ours?"

"Vince got grazed, but not even enough to warrant a ride in the bus. Everyone else is good; Masters got a through-and-through on his leg, courtesy of Cable."

"How'd he do?" This had been Cable's first real incident on the job, and this was always a true test of an employee.

"Vince said he held it together like a pro, no issues there whatsoever."

"Good. On their way back now?"

"Should be finishing up at the station any minute then back here. Do you want to debrief or me?"

Ranger mulled it over for a second.

"Let's both sit in for his first." He paused. "Let's have our newly licensed BEA sit in too."

A huge grin spread over Tank's face.

"So you finally told him, huh?"

"Told him what?" Lester popped up behind Tank with Bobby in tow.

"Steph here is a fully licensed BEA in the state of New Jersey," Tank said like a proud papa. That's what he felt like, anyways.

Stephanie felt her face flush as Bobby and Lester fawned over her, congratulating and giving her some good natured ribbing.

"Shorty's tonight? Pizza? Celebratory beer? Yes?" Lester pointed at Stephanie expectantly. "We can also celebrate Cable's first shooting."

"That's a thing you celebrate?" Steph questioned.

"Hell yeah!"

"We only celebrate when I don't have to patch them up afterwards," Bobby chimed in.

Stephanie glanced at Ranger, quickly seeing their evening together slip away, but she figured that hopefully, she and Ranger would have plenty of other times to go out to eat. Cable's "first shooting" (she laughed at the mental imagery of say, an ornament with that written on) only happened once.

"Sure, why not?"

Lester let out a loud whoop as Ranger told him to get his ass out of his office. She could hear him shout across the floor that she had gotten her license, and the cheering that sounded was enough to make her smile and resign herself to a fun night out with the guys. They may not be Ranger, but they were certainly a strong second place.

* * *

The rest of the day flew by for Stephanie. Between the debriefing with Cable and Vince, which was more interesting than she actually thought it was going to be, to the never-ending stream of praise and congratulations, she was honestly surprised when it was 5:30 and everyone was getting ready to go out.

She ran upstairs to 7 to change shirts, feeling fairly confident she could scrounge something up from the recesses of Ranger's drawers. What she found was unexpected – two drawers, completely devoted to her things, not to mention the few distraction dresses that she kept here in the closet. Not just hastily shoved away, either, but rather folded precisely, and she suspected that there was even a scented sachet in there as well. _Interesting_.

She chose a turquoise long sleeve shirt with a scoop neck that was super stretchy and served to make her feel even sexier than usual. She had every intention of keeping her black jeans on, but when she found a pair of Lucky brand jeans in the drawer in her size, she felt like it would've been rude of her to _not_ wear them.

Feeling distinctly feminine and sexy, she made her way downstairs, to where the fun lie in wait.

"You're coming too, right?" Steph asked Ranger in the break room, as she had just said bye to the guys on the monitor.

"I don't usually go to these things," he admitted. As the boss, he knew that sometimes his men found it intimidating when he'd go out with the group. "Not sure how appreciated my presence would be."

"_I'd_appreciate it, Ranger. And if this is really for me, then I think I deserve to have you come." She let her arm hook into his, guiding him towards the elevator. "Besides, maybe you're not as scary as you think you are."

* * *

She sat underneath his arm, firmly ensconced in his side as the pizza overwhelmed the table and the beer flowed liberally.

"See? Everyone wants you to come when you pay for things." Steph teased with a poke in his side.

He grabbed her finger and stroked it before entwining his fingers with hers.

"Babe, I always pay for this kind of thing, whether I come out or not."

"Wait," she turned to see him better. "So you encourage this? This 'first shooting' celebration?"

He shot her a devastating grin.

"It's a rite of passage."

"Men," she muttered, trying to fight a smile as she turned away from him. He squeezed her hand gently and she gave it a return squeeze. It might not have been a one-on-one date, but she had to admit, she was having a great time.

The end of the night came all too quickly for Stephanie, who was feeling pleasantly buzzed after quite a few beers. She wasn't drunk, but she felt loose enough to laugh louder, snuggle closer to Ranger, and shoot off a few crass comments with the guys. When they eventually started packing it in, she was almost overcome with emotion as the guys would stop her and say how happy they were that she came out, and even a few that mentioned how great it was that she got Ranger to come out, too!

She had never anticipated when she started decorating the office and giving Ranger a gift each day that this would come out of it. This happier, lighter, not-carefree-but-almost-there atmosphere that was permeating Rangeman was unexpected, yet welcomed with open arms. She hoped it would last.

* * *

**A/N part deux: So I took some creative liberties with the NJ BEA license stuff. It is now mandatory for all bounty hunters to be licensed, although it wasn't always that way. Only since 2010 has this been enacted, so that explains why Stephanie hasn't had a license before now. I made it not-so-mandatory in my story because I wanted it to be more of an "I'm trying" type of deal versus "I have to." But other than that – that whole admissions process and the training course is exactly the process someone would have to go through today in order to get licensed in Jersey. See, I did **_**some**_** research! **** This is one of my favorite chapters, I think. And it's not just because they finally kissed! (Which I hope I led up to enough, and yet not too much. It's just a bit unrealistic that Ranger would let all this happen for a **_**month**_** without getting some smoochin' going down, you know?)**


	13. December 12th

**A/N: I'm sure you'll start to realize that this story becomes less about the gifts and more about their burgeoning relationship. The gifts are still there (and there are some pretty important ones coming) but I didn't think it was necessary for the story to _revolve_ around them like it did in the earlier chapters. Well, tell me what you think!**

**Just as a heads up - I am not sure when tomorrow's chapter will get posted. Either really early or really late! I have a business trip to Tennessee (just for the day...ugh) and my flight leaves at 5:30. In the morning. I'm not sure how they expect me to function all day when they drag me out of bed that early and then ship me back at 10pm, but we'll see, I guess ;)**

**Hope y'all like this next installment!**

* * *

There wasn't a big, mind-blowing shift in Stephanie and Ranger's relationship. There were no announcements to the company, no proclamations of love, nothing like that. Instead, there was just the underlying hum of contentment from both of them.

Stephanie knew it wasn't over. She knew that one kiss – no matter how awesome it was – didn't mean that they were suddenly in the clear and devoid of all the problems that plagued them before. But it did mean that she had gotten a kiss, and that was a good enough start for her.

She sat in the bond's office, feeling proud that while she wasn't divulging everything about her and Ranger's relationship, at least she had _something_ to tell Lula.

"Oh _hell_ naw!" Apparently that wasn't good enough for Lula.

"That's all that happened. I swear."

"I heard y'all were getting cozy out at Shorty's last night!"

"Yeah," Connie agreed. "Heard there was some hand holding going on."

"How do you even know anything?!" Lula, she could understand knowing stuff from Tank. But Connie?

"Uncle Frankie was having dinner at Shorty's last night," Connie shrugged while filing down her talons. _Er…nails_. "Said he saw Manoso getting cozy with some white chick and I knew it had to be you."

"Hey, I am not just 'some white chick.'"

"You kind of are," Lula said around a mouthful of powdered donut, causing a miniature snowfall on her chest. "Least you not as a white as Connie."

Stephanie accepted that graciously while Connie protested vehemently. At least!

"So what's today's gift?" Lula asked as she hunched over the box of donuts, choosing her next victim.

"Oh, it's a stupid gift that I actually don't foresee him using. Ever." She actually smiled when she thought of what she left in his stocking this morning. "A black Santa hat."

"Girl, where you even be finding these things? Since when does this shit even come in black?"

Stephanie just shrugged. Dollar store was the way to go for her budget, and she wasn't about to question such a perfect gift.

"Used to be just red. Made for interesting gifts to the Capistrone family," Connie added. They all shuddered.

"I don't know how I feel about this as an African American! I think I am offended!"

"Is your Santa black?" Connie asked.

"What do you mean is _my_ Santa black?!"

Stephanie could see this spiraling out of control quickly, so she decided to take her leave.

"I will see you guys soon, I promise," she said to deaf ears, as Lula had already worked herself up into a tizzy of civil rights. She's pretty sure she was talking about a john she once had that looked like Santa as she slipped out the door, confirming that she made the right decision.

"Babe."

She almost slipped on the icy walkway as she grabbed her chest to try and slow her heart. Ranger had appeared out of _nowhere_ in front of her, and he reached out to steady her, letting his hands linger.

"You scared the daylights out of me!" His lips twitched, but he offered no apologies. "Right, right, aware of my surroundings. Got it."

"You picking up any skips today?"

She waved a file in the air, smirking. "Mooner and Dougie. They really want to ride in the reindeer."

"Of course they do."

"Don't worry," she told him, digging in her purse before pulling out two huge candy canes. "I'm providing them with the full Christmas experience."

"I'm starting to get concerned, Babe." His eyes were slightly crinkled and she knew he wasn't serious.

"You weren't before? Rookie mistake, Ranger." They shared a smile for a long minute before Stephanie realized she was standing in front of the door to the bond's office. "Sorry, I'm just standing here like a dope. I'm not sure if Connie has anything for you, but…"

"Bobby already picked up our skips this morning. Saw your car, thought I'd say hi."

"Thought you'd say _hi_?" Who was this Ranger and what had he done with the old one?

"And maybe do this," he said softly before closing the distance between their lips.

This was the first time he had ever kissed in her a place that wasn't the alley next to the office. While she knew that wasn't exactly covert, it certainly was not the out-in-the-open scenario that was happening currently. She never really felt as if she was hiding before, but compared to the feeling she was having right now, the alley felt like a dark and dirty secret.

The kiss continued (did she moan, or did he?) for a good couple of minutes before a honking car forced them to break apart. Looking around for the culprit, Steph watched as the tinted passenger's side window on Rangers F250 rolled down.

"You guys are going to get a ticket for public indecency," Lester called to them, half hanging out of the window. And on his head was none other than Ranger's black Santa hat.

"Is that…"

"Yeah."

"But why…"

Ranger sighed. An actual sigh came from his lips.

"I put it in my truck, but Tank got called out to do some damage control for a contract. I got stuck with this clown instead."

"It'd look better on you," she blurted out. Her eyes instantly widened and she had to physically control herself to not clap her hand over her mouth.

"Glad you think so, Babe." She could hear the smile in his voice, even if his face remained neutral, with the occasional glare towards Lester, who was now making kissy faces at the two of them.

"I'll let you go then, to keep Lieutenant Libido in line."

He did smile at that, tucking a curl behind her ear. Lester had progressed to actually making the smooching noises, which drew Ranger's attention.

"At ease, _Lieutenant_."

"You guys both suck," Lester pouted, but he did relent and roll up the window.

"Are you free for lunch?"

"Mooner and Dougie will probably suck me in for a show or two, but it's only 10 now. I'm sure I'll be free in time for food."

"Pino's? 12:30?"

"Sounds good."

A smoldering kiss later that completely ruined her panties, and he was gone. A tapping at the door behind her showed Lula and Connie with their noses pressed against the glass, fanning each other.

With an eye roll, she got in her reindeer car and took off, now looking forward to this afternoon for a whole different reason. Although a Christmas-themed Gilligan's Island episode wouldn't go unappreciated.

* * *

She walked into the station with Mooner and Dougie dressed as Santa and an elf, respectively. They were passionate that their suits required only minor changes from their Super Suits, and Stephanie believed them wholeheartedly. That was the tightest Santa suit she had ever seen.

"Ho ho ho!" Mooner bellowed upon entering the station, leading Stephanie to think that those snacks they had before were _not_ the innocent Christmas cookies she had been led to believe. Thankfully, she had learned her lesson a few months prior and no longer accepted any baked goods from these two.

She was grinning ear to ear as they sat and waited to get rebooked and then bonded out again (Connie said within the hour) and she watched them judge every police officer that walked by them as naughty or nice.

"Naughty," Mooner grumbled as Gaspick walked by.

"Nice!" Dougie pointed out Robin Russell across the station.

"Nice," Mooner pointed to Gazarra and Costanza. "Kind of nice, but I bet he eats all of Santa's cookies."

"So, Cupcake, does this make you Santa's little helper as well?"

Steph had her coat draped over an arm, as she resigned herself to waiting for Connie with Mooner and Dougie, and underneath was wearing tight black jeans, high heeled black boots and a black scoop neck top with red buttons. She was hoping those would slip by Ranger later. She certainly didn't _resemble_ any of Santa's helpers.

"In the sense that I helped Mooner and Dougie, then yeah."

Things between the two of them were frosty at best, although she heard that Joe had a new girlfriend and was on his way down the path to domestic bliss. Since the last encounter in the police station had left Stephanie shocked and deeply chastised, she was both optimistic that this couldn't be worse than the last time, and pessimistic, because when had her life ever been that easy?

"Saw the reindeer car outside. Very nice."

She smiled a real smile at that. It may be ridiculous (her mother threatened to disown her for it) but she did like it.

"Thanks!"

"Very festive." Joe stepped forward and reached to trace the neckline of her shirt. "_Very_ fest-"

She swatted his hand away and took a step back. Same old Joe.

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing soprano for the rest of your life," she said sweetly, giving his crotch a pointed look.

"Careful, _Babe_, or you might end up on the naughty list," Joe bit back. "Or does that not matter anymore since Ranger's pockets are deep enough to cover everything?"

"He is _so_ going on the naughty list," Mooner pointed out, drawing Joe's attention.

"What are these two even doing out here? Someone put them in lockup."

"_Joe!_" Stephanie stood protectively in front of her friends who were waiting on a bench peacefully, waiting to be bonded out. They were absolutely no threat to anyone, and putting them in lockup would only be a hassle to everyone here. It might not be protocol, but no one ever dragged Mooner and Dougie down to the cells, not even Picky.

"Gazarra, take these two down to the tombs."

"That is _so_ unnecessary, Joe," Stephanie refused to back down. "Just cause you had your _stupid_ pride hurt, doesn't mean that you can just –"

"Look, Morelli, we don't usually take them downstairs," Gazarra tried to reason.

"And when they commit a felony due to being unrestrained while waiting to be rebonded, it is on _our_ head, Gazarra."

Just then, Stephanie spied Connie walking in.

"Look, Connie's here! She's going to bond them out. No one needs to go anywhere."

"I don't know, Cupcake, I think there might be a paperwork build up right now. Probably won't get to them for another hour."

"You are being such a _dou-_"

"Okay!" Costanza interrupted what was sure to be a scathing insult from Stephanie and clapped Joe on the shoulder. "You're needed in interrogation 3, Morelli. Gazarra, you make sure these two get bonded out and don't commit any crimes in the process?" Not waiting for a response, he herded Morelli away, giving Stephanie a pointed look.

"Sorry guys," she apologized to Mooner and Dougie. "That had nothing to do with you."

"He is _not_ very jolly," Dougie muttered.

"Maybe we should bring him some cookies?"

"Yeah, _that's_ a good idea," Steph said under her breath, walking to meet Connie.

After arranging for Connie to take the two hardened criminals home, she was on her way to get lunch with Ranger, looking forward to getting out of that damn station and all the drama that came with it.

* * *

"Heard you might be on the naughty list, Babe," Ranger smirked as he held the door open for her.

"How?" She asked incredulously. "How do you know about that? It happened twenty minutes ago!"

"He's Batman, duh," Lester pointed out as he trailed behind. She guessed that he couldn't shake the shadow for lunch, even though she knew he had to have tried.

Ranger led her to a booth in the back, allowing her to slip in first before following suit, with Lester across.

"Had a guy there signing a statement about the Stark shooting. Called me as soon as Morelli walked over to you, thought there might be a problem."

"Yeah, well, go figure, where there's me and Morelli, there's a problem." She realized that she sounded sassier than intended, so she tried to apologize, but Ranger and Lester both waved it off.

She felt herself return to normal as she bit into her meatball sub. Well, that, and the presence of Ranger's hand on her thigh helped to bring her back down to earth.

Lunch was amicable and more, with Lester's running commentary keeping it from ever getting too heavy.

"…And that's why manatees are called 'sea cows.'" Lester looked proud.

"Jesus," Ranger muttered.

"That's so…_interesting_."

"I'm filled with fun facts," he boasted.

"You should really let other people tell you they're fun."

Ranger laughed aloud at that, and Stephanie could audibly hear the level of noise in Pino's lessen as everyone's attention focused on their table (as if it had been anywhere else in the first place). She figured not that many people had seen – or heard – Ranger laugh before, and as it was a pretty awesome sight, she didn't let it bother her too much. He was a beautiful man, and she was starting to think that maybe he was all hers.

"See you back at the office?" Stephanie asked Ranger as she sat half in her car, half out, staring up at him.

"Not sure. Got a few more loose ends to tie up out here. You free for dinner?"

"I wish," she sighed. "I still have some…Christmas stuff to do. Will I see you tomorrow?"

She conveniently left out how it was Christmas stuff for _him_.

"Our day is pretty booked for tomorrow night's op, but maybe."

"Oh yeah, I remember Tank saying you guys had a job tomorrow night, and that it might take a few days to decompress." She looked up from beneath her eyelashes. "Dangerous?"

He shook his head. "Just a redecorating job."

That didn't answer the question at all, but she decided to let it go.

"You know, you could always come work out with me in the gym tomorrow. I might even be willing to push it back to 6." Ranger briefly ran through his schedule and decided that if Stephanie wanted to work out (and he hoped she did, if nothing more than to just see him) then he could definitely push back their morning meeting. He was going to be meeting with the guys all day anyways.

"Yikes. I usually reserve 6 am for sleeping."

A look flickered across his face and she couldn't read it properly, but knew that he was sharing something with her.

"This is important to you, isn't it?"

"Your safety is important to me." She raised an eyebrow (or two). "I need-" He corrected himself, "I _want_ you to be able to take care of yourself if something happens."

He knew if he started putting words like 'need' and 'have' into his Stephanie jargon, then it was only a matter of time before their relationship deteriorated. She didn't like being told what to do, and that was one of his favorite qualities of hers.

She mulled that over in her head for a second, but Ranger must've taken that for a signal that the conversation was over, because he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I'll see you at the office tomorrow, Babe."

"Yeah," she murmured, slipping her legs inside and allowing him to close the door for her. "Bye."


	14. December 13th

**A/N: Just for the record, it is 3 a.m., I am about to go to the airport, and I hate my life. That being said: enjoy! Back to our regularly scheduled time tomorrow, if I can get myself to wake up at all.**

* * *

_What are you doing?_ Stephanie asked herself for the millionth time.

This was never part of the plan. In the whole realm of things that she thought could happen during December, this was not a blip on her radar.

She was trudging into Rangeman at 6 a.m. To workout.

The real kicker is, when Ranger suggested upping the time to 6 a.m., it sounded good _in theory_. In reality, she had to wake up a half hour earlier just to make it the office by 6! And waking up wasn't as easy as she had thought it'd be last night. No, she was grateful for the ten alarms she set, each a few minutes after each other, in order to guarantee her dragging her ass out of bed.

She might not know _what_ she was doing, but she did know why. And as she pushed open the heavy door to the gym and saw the moment that Ranger realized she was there, with that brilliant, unbelieving smile stretching across his face, she was reminded once more.

She was there for him.

She hated working out; everyone knew that. She hated waking up early and she hated sweating. Couple that with the unpleasant burn after she worked out an unused muscle group, and she wasn't feeling any of those mythical "endorphins." She was feeling pain and regret.

But she saw the look in Ranger's eye yesterday. She saw it and heard his voice from a few days prior tell her that he _couldn't handle anything happening to her_. He did need her to do this, despite him not wanting to use the word. If she wanted to have any sort of chance with him, she had to step it up. How could she ask him to give her a chance, when she wasn't even willing to go the extra mile to ensure her safety?

She smiled back at him, shrugging a little. This was her taking the first step. Or, well, the 13th step, if you looked at a calendar.

"Ready to get started, Babe?"

_No._ "Sure."

She watched his eyes gleam with…something as he worked her through the paces, completing his workout simultaneously. He kept giving her glances that spoke volumes, with that unknown emotion written so clearly in his eyes. It was a mixture of pride and love and…she had no idea. But she wanted to.

* * *

He hadn't thought she'd show up. Hadn't even considered it really, since he offered it to her and she looked like she'd rather roll around in garbage. (They were both workouts, he acknowledged.)

But then she strolled in there, looking more than a little unsure and uneasy, yet she was still there. Still standing right in front of him, willing to learn and to make this gesture. It humbled him, for a moment. He was once again struck with how much she gives to him, how much she is willing to do, when all he seems to offer is monetary support.

"You're like my own little cheerleader," Stephanie gasped out, breaking him from his reverie.

Ah, yes. _Moral_ support. He supposed that was his biggest gift to her, although he felt ashamed that he only looked superior in that regard because everyone else in her life was _dismal_. He knew the key to getting Stephanie engaged was to involve her, and she, like all humans, responded better to positive praise than negative.

It was the least he could do. Well, that, and he'd make sure she got a little extra sugar today. _That_ was the least he could do.

"I like seeing you in the morning."

He had no idea why he had said that. It was true, but unrelated to anything they had been doing. That was certainly not the moral support Stephanie needed to get through a workout.

She beamed at him. "Me too."

And then got a second wind on the Stairmaster.

Maybe it _was_ what she needed to hear. He'd have to file that away for later.

After they were done and it was suspiciously closer to 8am than 7, Ranger sent her upstairs to clean up after pressing a hard kiss to her lips. He went to the locker room in the gym, but stopped to grab the internal phone before showering.

"Ella speaking."

"Ella, how about some strawberries for Stephanie today?"

"Chocolate covered?"

He smiled. He had in all honesty just been thinking about getting her some out-of-season fruits that he knew she enjoyed as a natural sugar boost. Trust Ella to turn it into a full blown dessert. However, still riding the endorphins from both a good workout and a kiss from Stephanie, he just laughed.

"If you must."

"The two of you are a pair, you know that?"

And with that cryptic message that Ranger didn't understand at all, she signed off.

* * *

He understood what she meant when he got to his desk after his workout. Her note said "Ella baked, I decorated!" and it came with a decent sized gingerbread man wrapped in plastic, decorated to look like him.

He poked his head out of his office and from the sounds coming from the cubicles and the other offices, Stephanie must've done the same for everyone.

His gingerbread man was dressed in all black icing and had a gray work belt with various weapons on it. His shirt had the Batman logo painted on in yellow frosting and she had even given him a ponytail, which although his preferred hairstyle, he was not currently sporting. Ella had outdone herself with the cookie shapes, making him actually have defined muscles and less girth than a typical gingerbread man. It was so Stephanie.

"I know for a fact that you taste delicious."

Think of her and she shall appear.

He took pleasure with the idea that she was becoming more comfortable. His door wasn't closed, as he knew he was headed to the conference room within the hour, and also to encourage Stephanie to drop by. But the lack of a knock spoke volumes about her comfort level with him and Rangeman. He knew she never would have done that had he been on the phone, and she would never have come in if the door was closed, but it still felt like a small victory.

"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow and tried desperately to get his mind out of the gutter. It wasn't working.

"I tried some of Ella's batter last night. And some damaged cookies…"

"Do you have one that looks like you?"

She let out a beautiful melodic laugh and shook her head.

"No, we decided to make an army of men last night. No girls allowed."

"Ironic."

"We thought so." She came more into his office, now satisfied that she wasn't interrupting anything. "You like him then?"

"I'd rather eat you," he said wolfishly, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Sorry," she said rather breathlessly. "Maybe Ella will make more someday."

"Someday," he agreed. "Someday soon."

* * *

Ranger rolled his eyes at the group of his men in front of him in the conference room, all with either their gingerbread counterparts next to them, untouched, or in their mouths.

"Did you just roll your eyes?" Santos got out with crumbs flying from his lips.

"Careful. Wouldn't want you to choke on yourself." The look on his face told him that Ranger could _definitely_ make that happen if he wanted to.

"I don't know how you can eat yourself," Vince said from down the table. "Mine's too pretty to eat."

"Is that what the girls say about you?" From Cal, this time.

"He has a good point," Bobby interjected. "How can you eat that, man? If it's anything like you, I'm sure it's full of shit."

Ranger felt his lips turn up at that one. He had missed this camaraderie between his men. He vaguely remembered a time when he encouraged fun of this sort, and he wasn't sure when he stopped. Granted, now wasn't the ideal time for this, but still. He made a mental note to do more teambuilding stuff, preferably with lots of booze.

He tuned back in to the conversation and again, was struck with the urge to roll his eyes.

"If you gentlemen are done discussing my woman's _cookies_…" (A euphemism if he ever did hear one.)

"Your woman?" Hal had been a little out of the loop recently.

"Are you and Ella a thing now, man?"

"Santos, shut up or get shut down," Tank threatened mildly, cracking his knuckles.

"If I remember correctly, all Santos _gets_ is shut down."

The table erupted in laughter from those who were familiar with Ranger's sense of humor, with awestruck stares from those who had never heard their boss cut loose and make a joke. He let the jokes continue for a few minutes before calling attention once more to get down to work.

He couldn't resist cuffing his cousin upside the head as he passed out blueprints, though.

* * *

Stephanie popped another chocolate covered strawberry in her mouth and grinned to herself. The man gave her fruit, dipped in chocolate. He was sneaky. So sneaky.

It was eleven pm and she was hunched over her desk, finishing up tomorrow's gift. She had eaten dinner with her family (not quite the unmitigated disaster she had expected, but close) and had come back to the office to finish up and also spend some time with Ella.

Louis apparently was going around to all the sites and making sure they were ready for their year-end inspection, which left Ella with a lot of free time on her hands. This worked out for some of Stephanie's plans (the cookies last night were _very_ time consuming) but also made Ella truly feel the loneliness of the season. Stephanie vowed to spend more time with her, so she came back after dinner and helped her decorate more cookies that she was planning on sending to family and donating.

She left her around 10, letting her get some sleep after last night's late night, and went down to 5 to sketch out her last part of tomorrow's gift. She almost went to 7, figuring that if the guys went out at 9, they probably wouldn't be back for a long time, but didn't want to chance it. It wouldn't do to have Ranger ruin another gift.

She had just finished writing his name on it in the fanciest script she could muster, when she heard it.

It was a steady beeping noise, not particularly fast, but she knew what it meant. It meant one of Rangeman's panic buttons went off. She glanced at the control room, unable to see anything, but it didn't look like a flurry of movement was happening, so she figured it wasn't a big deal. When the frequency of the beeps started to increase, she dropped her marker and stood up. The faster the beep, the more panic buttons are going off. When it sounded like another was added, she threw down the marker and ran to the control room.

They might not have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off (they were always so calm and collected, she didn't know why she thought that was a possibility), but they were definitely on high alert. It was Cable and Bones, which made sense to her. Cable was too new to go on an important job, like she suspected this 'redecorating' was, and there always was a senior employee on monitors, just in case an account should have a serious issue.

She stood at the door, watching the situation unfold. Cable was pulling up all the GPS monitoring, putting different locations on different screens. Bones was on the phone before he hung it up abruptly, apparently putting it on speaker phone.

"Control Room to Alpha 1, go."

"Shots fired…" The line crackled ominously before the voice came back (Bobby, maybe?) "We've got men down that Brown is tending to…" (Not Bobby, apparently.)

She could hear the shots in the background as Bones tried to get more information out of them. She saw where they were monitoring the police lines, as Cable sifted through the computer gobbledygook that she knew nothing of. She felt her heart beating faster in her ears. Neither Bones nor Cable were aware of her presence behind her – or at least, they showed no knowledge of her being there – but she took another step forward, trying to make sense of everything happening around her.

A shout came from the speaker, and Steph knew that whatever came next wouldn't be good.

"Ranger is down! Repeat, Ranger is _down_! All units move in, go, go, go!"


	15. December 14th

**A/N: So, yesterday = ! Y'all went crazy with the reviewing (which I love, obviously) and I guess I felt somewhat justified in my cliffhanger since I knew you guys would get a resolution today. I hope that works for everyone – if you want me to space out my updates, just let me know… ;) **

**My business trip was short and early and late and all those sorts of things, so I'm probably going to dip out early and start some Christmas baking this weekend. Updates will still occur as scheduled though! I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and I hope this tension-filled chapter doesn't make you too angry!**

* * *

"What?" Her voice failed her, and her question was barely a whisper at this point. She didn't know what to do or say and she felt like time was moving too fast for her to get a purchase on reality.

"Ms Plum!" Cable spotted her out of the corner of his eye. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Since the third button went off," Bones answered, not looking up from the keyboard. "Listen, Cable, I need you to man the monitors solo for a few. Manny will be here within ten. Buses are already on their way and they'll be taking everyone to Saint Francis. I'm taking Steph. Damage hasn't been assessed, but I don't think we had any casualties."

He hit a few more buttons, locking up the system and sending an automatic message to the heads of all other branches that there was an incident and Ranger was involved.

Stephanie heard nothing. Her eyes were darting around the room, unable to focus, and she felt a million different emotions coursing through her veins. She simultaneously wanted to hide in her room forever and run all the way to Ranger by herself.

When Bones took her by the elbow and attempted to lead her away, she jerked back.

"I'm not going home!"

"I know," he said patiently. "We're going to the hospital to check in with the guys."

She calmed at that and allowed him to lead her to the garage, not even stopping to take the elevator; instead, she practically sprinted down the stairs.

As he pulled out of the garage, she tried futilely to grip her heart through her shirt, if just to make it slow down for one second. Her breath was starting to come in gasps and her vision was becoming more unfocused.

"Steph!" Bones shouted, breaking through her fog. "I need you to stay with me. We're almost there."

"What happened?" She whispered.

"I don't know." He was using that placating voice that a parent would use on a child, and she felt herself getting riled until he continued. "Tonight was supposed to be an in-and-out. Detain only, get the kids."

"Kids?" She echoed.

"Alphabet agency op. Child pornography ring. Minimum risk, but high payoff."

"Minimum risk?" She shrieked. "Ranger is _shot_!"

"They weren't known to be violent." His voice was still steady and calm, not reacting to her outburst.

"Why all the planning then?"

"The most important goal was secure evidence. A place like that gets raided, they start locking down hard drives, deleting information, destroying computers. It had to be a very strategic attack in order to secure the proof that the government wanted."

They were at the hospital now (Stephanie had no idea how long they had been in the car or even what route they had taken) and there were emergency vehicles everywhere. Lights were blinding, people were running, and Stephanie could practically feel her lungs get smaller.

"Let me out here, you go park the car!"

The locks clicked into place.

"Bones! Let me out!"

"I am effectively responsible for you right now and until we know where the threats came from and who was responsible for what, you are not to leave my side. We go in together." Gone was the patronizing voice she could have shot him herself for, and in its place was a strict, no-arguments-brooked voice. She tried to open the door once more and the locks clicked back right away.

She let out a yell of frustration, but short of throwing a full-fledged tantrum, there was nothing she could do.

"Ranger needs you safe, Stephanie. He doesn't need you running around half-cocked."

His voice remained the same even tone as before, except this time, Stephanie could sense some disappointment behind it.

She took a deep breath and tried to focus on anything but the image of Ranger lying in a hospital bed, bleeding out.

He needed her safe. If she was going to make a relationship work with him, he needed to know she took her safety seriously. If he was even around to have a relationship _with_…

She stopped that train of thought almost instantly, nipped it in the bud. She would not allow herself to feel that. She couldn't.

Bones whipped the SUV into a spot that she's pretty sure was handicapped, and she felt the click of the lock underneath her hands. _Finally_.

She surprised herself when she waited, rocking on the back of her heels, for Bones to finish switching out his weapons. She had no idea what he was doing, but it looked important. When he was done, he gave her an approving look and grabbed her hand, taking off at a run for the doors.

They slowed as they entered, and she saw Tank right away.

She felt like her insides were quivering, and not in a good way. The adrenaline coursing through her veins was almost unbearable.

"Tank!" She practically sobbed upon seeing him, falling into his arms. He gathered her up and held her tightly, just like the boss would have wanted.

"He's okay, Bomber, he's okay," he soothed. "He's just getting patched up right now."

"Injuries?" Bones asked all business.

"Ranger took one to the abdomen and one nicked his ear, Santos got one to the bicep, no news on if it hit the bone. All others are theirs. A couple other flesh wounds and grazes, but no one else admitted."

Stephanie felt her knees go weak at the news of Ranger's injuries. _His ear? _That was so close to his face. To his head. So close to her never seeing him ever again.

"Can I…when can I see him? Where is he?"

"Soon as they tell us, Bomber, you can."

She sank into a seat at that. He was okay. He was fine. She put her head in her hands and breathed. _He was okay_.

"Was Ranger wearing a vest?"

"Negative."

Stephanie's head shot up at that.

"What do you mean? Why wasn't he wearing a vest?"

Regardless of how 'safe' a mission was, he always wore a vest. When he got shot in the shoulder, he had still been wearing a vest. (She inquired if they made bulletproof sweatshirts, but apparently not.)

Tank actually shrugged at the question.

"He went in wearing one, came out without."

Her heart was freaking out.

He promised her he would stay safe. _Promised_. Promised that he would do whatever he had to, take whatever measures were available, in order to stay safe. He had _promised_.

Just then, Bobby strode from around the corner, peeling off bloody gloves, his eyes searching for Tank. He nodded for him to come over, out of the waiting room and into the hall. Steph leapt up with him, eager to know more, while Bones excused himself to make more calls and figure out more as to where they stood on threats and eliminations.

"Lester's was a through and through, although he's going to need some intense physical therapy to rebuild that muscle. As for Ranger..."

"Where is he?" Stephanie demanded. Until he saw that he was okay, she didn't think she could comprehend anything else. Bobby tried to speed up the rest of his report.

"His abdomen was messy, but fine. It was also a through-and-through, right under his ribs, so no bone splinters. Lots of blood but no long-term damage. Uncle Sam is not going to be happy – this puts him out months later than anticipated. He's also a little pissed that they don't know if he'll be able to wear his earring again." He finally turned to Steph. "He's down the hall in room 113. Slick and Cal are outside of his room, they'll let you in. He shouldn't be here for more than a few hours."

She took off down the hall, almost going past the turn for his room. Not for the first time, she was grateful for the Merry Men stature. It was hard to miss two black hulks.

They held open the door for her, with Cal placing a kiss on her temple before ushering her in.

"Babe."

He sat upright in bed looking a little worse for wear. He had gauze around his right ear, but it was almost soaked through with blood. His face was paler than she had ever seen it, a true statement to his blood loss, and his eyes were so tired.

"Ranger," she breathed. She ran to him, slowing down before actually making contact, unsure where it would hurt to touch him. Instead, she settled for brushing some hair out of his eyes and placing a light kiss on his forehead, one which he almost arched into. "Don't you know you're not really Batman?"

It was a joke, meant to ease the tension, but she still felt a heaviness weigh on her.

"I'll be fine," he reassured her. "No harm, no foul."

"No harm?" Any tension that had left the room returned with a vengeance as her voice got louder. "_No harm?_ What do you think this is, Ranger? You were _shot_!"

"It was a misunderstanding." His lips twitched up at his half-joke, which only served to enrage Stephanie.

"Misunderstanding?! Whathappened?" He didn't move to respond right away. "What _happened_, Ranger? Why were you shot? Why weren't you wearing a vest? You **promised** me you would take care of yourself. You promised me! Why am I sitting in a car with Bones while you're in here, waiting for him to switch out his weapons and then escort me inside so I am not in danger while _you_ are running around with a gun and no vest on? Huh? WHY?"

The tears that she had been determined to not show him started spilling onto her cheeks.

"Babe…"

"No, don't 'Babe' me! I want to know why your safety is somehow not as important as mine!" She knew she let him coddle her she'd forgive him in a second. She wasn't even mad at this point, she was scared. She was scared that once again, he could've been taken away from her, and it could've been prevented by him. "Why weren't you wearing a vest, Ranger?"

She was yelling, and a part of her wanted to calm down, but the other part was enjoying the adrenaline that was escaping. She needed this, if nothing else. She just needed to be reminded that he was real.

"Stephanie." Her name was a warning. He wasn't feeling up to a yelling match, and he wanted her to calm down. He knew his men would never come in and forcibly remove her as they would if it had been anyone else yelling, so he had to diffuse the situation himself.

He was frustrated with her stubbornness and also touched at the amount that she cared for him. His safety was (incorrectly) more important than her own in her mind. It didn't mean that he wanted to get yelled at by her.

"Stephanie," he tried again. She continued to rant (very loudly) and demand why he wasn't wearing a vest that finally he couldn't handle it. His head was hurting, his blood – what he had left of it, anyway – was boiling, and he found himself raising his voice at her. "Because I gave it to a kid, Stephanie!"

"_What?_"

"I gave it a little kid who was scared out of his mind and I didn't know if I was going to be able to get him out of that building without him or me getting shot. So I gave him my vest and told him where to hide and that I'd come back in to get him. Are you happy now?"

"No!" She shouted back, still working on her head of steam. "You stupid, honorable, infuriating man! I am not _happy_! You were shot! You almost bled out! You almost _left _me! Again!"

"What would you have had me do, Stephanie? What could I have done differently for you?"

"_Nothing!_" She sobbed, finally breaking down. "Nothing."

He watched before his eyes as she slumped into a chair across the bed and cried her eyes out. He wanted nothing more than to get up and go to her, but not only was he hooked up to ten different machines, but he could feel blood seeping out of his gauze and down his neck. He was concerned he would pass out if he were to stand.

"Babe, come here."

It took her a few minutes, but eventually she managed to get herself under control and come to stand beside him. Tears were still streaming down her face steadily, but she looked so sincere and apologetic.

"Come here." He inched further onto the bed, careful not to pull his stitches, and patted the bed next to him. She gave him a skeptical look, but he insisted his wound was on the other side and he'd be fine.

That was all the convincing she needed to curl up beside him and hold his bicep as tightly as she risked.

"I'm sorry, Steph."

"I'm sorry too," she whispered. "I shouldn't have yelled."

"I shouldn't have yelled either, Babe."

"I hate it when you get shot."

"Me too, Babe."

"I was scared you weren't coming back for me."

He sighed and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

"Me too, Babe," he whispered.

By the time Ranger got out of the hospital, it was almost 6 a.m. and both he and Steph were ready to nap the day away.

"So now that it's Friday, can I know what my gift is today?"

Ranger sat in the back of an SUV with Steph curled up beside him on their way back to Rangeman. He was idly playing with her fingers as she left them on his thigh, and she was resting her head on his shoulder with her feet curled up under her. Not the safest way to be driven, but she trusted Slick to get them home in one piece.

"It's ironic, actually," Steph snorted as she thought about her gift. It seemed like so long ago that she had been working on them in her cubicle. "Bobby taught me some good massage techniques for your shoulder since you got shot. I had written you up some redeemable 'coupons' for a free massage to help you heal."

"Those massages come with a happy ending, Babe?"

"Someday," she murmured.

* * *

Ranger convinced Stephanie to sleep with him up on 7. It didn't take much convincing, if she was being honest with herself, but she reveled in the chance to be that close to Ranger after such a stressful night.

He drew the curtains, keeping out the morning sun, and crawled into bed with her after popping some pain killers.

"I'm glad you care about me, Babe," he said softly as sleep started to take hold. If Stephanie replied, he didn't hear it.


	16. December 15th

**A/N: So today's update isn't that long, but that is because they can't all be 4693486 pages long! There are a few doozies coming up though, so get ready. Hope everyone has a great weekend – see you tomorrow with a new update! ;)**

* * *

They slept late. That was the first thing Stephanie became aware of, because her internal clock was thanking her for the hour in which she was waking. Ranger was still in bed with her, sleeping on his good, un-shot side, and was tight against her back, spooning her.

She was pretty sure he was still sleeping, so she allowed this time to reflect. She lightly traced the hands that curled around her stomach, stroking gently, reveling in the pulse beneath her fingers. He was alive.

Her thoughts ran away with her at that. A lot of could-have-beens and worst case scenarios chased each other in a circle in her psyche, visions that even shutting her eyes tightly couldn't get rid of.

"I'm right here, Steph." His gravelly voice sounded from behind her and he tightened his grip on her waist.

"I know," she whispered back. She didn't really want to have this conversation.

"I meant what I said last night. There was nothing else I could have done."

"I know," she repeated. And she did. She understood. And truth was, that was what she loved about Ranger – his sense of honor and duty and his compassion. Not many people got to see the real Ranger, and she suspected even less knew about his vest situation last night, but he let her see everything. _Everything_.

"I take my safety very seriously. I don't want you to doubt that."

"I know you do." She sounded like a broken record. "I don't doubt that." She paused, but had to admit that it was much easier to have this conversation when she wasn't facing him. "I hate that for one second, I considered telling you that you should've kept your vest on."

She felt ashamed that the thought even crossed her mind. Of course she didn't want him to risk a child's life. But he was _so close_ to being hers.

"I hate that last night I almost wanted to lock you up, to keep you safe until I could make sure all the bastards were in prison." His admission was quiet, but she could feel the tension in his arms. She massaged his forearms until he started to relax. They hadn't said those things. They hadn't let them come out. They were _fine_.

"I don't like fighting with you."

Ranger actually huffed out a small laugh at that.

"Babe, that wasn't a fight. That was you and me and our emotions running high. I was never mad at you, and I don't think you were really mad at me."

"No," she agreed. "I wasn't mad. Just scared."

They let silence descend on them. In the quiet light of the afternoon, everything seemed calmer and more peaceful. She wondered briefly if it might snow soon. She could do with a bit of winter normality.

"Did I ever thank you last night for staying with Bones?"

"Hmm?" She couldn't really think of when she had stayed with Bones.

"In the car, when I was in the hospital. He told me that you stayed in the car with him, and then actually waited for him before coming into the hospital. You kept yourself safe."

Her cheeks heated at that. She hadn't actually kept herself safe at all, it was Bones. He was the one that was keeping an eye on her and making sure she didn't do something like, oh, jump out of a moving vehicle at the doors, like she had wanted to.

When she remained silent, he continued.

"You know he was switching out his weapons to have something nonlethal on him in case you ran away."

"_What!_" She had no idea that _that's_ what he had been doing. That bastard!

"But he said you waited the whole time right next to him before coming in for me."

"Wait, you're happy that I waited before coming to see you in the hospital after you had been shot?"

"Babe, I'm happy that you took your safety seriously. I know you…care about me. You don't need to run into an unsecured building to prove that. The fact that you listened to Bones and waited means more to me than you know."

She had to confess. She couldn't let him be proud of her for something she hadn't wanted to do.

"I tried to jump out of the car. When he was near the entrance. I tried, Ranger. I wanted to be in there with you."

He was silent, and she was sure he was disappointed.

"I want to say that you'll do better next time, but I really hate getting shot." He let out a soft laugh, his breath a warm puff of air on the back of her neck.

Suddenly, all the benefits of having a conversation without facing him were gone. She needed to see his face, needed him to see _her_, to understand what she was about to say.

She turned in his arms, careful not to jostle him too much, yet still do it quickly enough that she wouldn't lose courage.

"No. I don't want you to get shot, but I am _going_ to be better. I will." She sounded so determine that he actually felt taken aback a bit.

"Babe…" He wanted to tell her that it wasn't about getting better, it was about trying, it was about right here and now, but she plowed on, ignoring him.

"No, I am serious. I am so sorry not just for what I said to you yesterday, but how I acted. And it seems stupid now, me jumping out of the car, but I know it's more than that. I know that you need to trust me to do the right thing all the time, whether Bones is there or not. I am going to do more than try, Ranger. I promise."

"Do or do not, there is no try," he murmured softly.

"…What?" That was not the response she had been expecting.

"Yoda," he explained.

Star Wars. He watched Star Wars. He _quoted _Star Wars. He was a nerd! She loved that she was able to know that. She loved that he was able to _say_ that to her today, instead of her mourning him. She was grateful for a lot of things today.

And as he kissed her softly, gently, with his lips just barely brushing hers, she suddenly knew exactly what she was going to give him tomorrow.

* * *

Ranger had spent almost all of Friday in debriefings, which Steph understood since it _was_ a government op. She had spent most of the day with the guys, even watching a movie with Lester since he was off for the next few days, looking pitiful with his arm in a sling.

She made sure she gave each and every guy a hug.

As awesome as it was that Ranger was okay and healthy(ish? He had a few extra holes than necessary, but his heart was beating and that was all she cared about), she knew that her life would be irrevocably changed if something happened to any of the guys.

She had spent the most time with Bones that night, working out Ranger's gift for Saturday. She had to sacrifice a gift she had previously planned, but that was pretty easy since there were still a few frivolous ones. He could spare them and be none the wiser. He was going to like this one, even if she didn't.

* * *

It was later than Ranger usually arrived at the gym on Saturday morning. He was exhausted after a day of dealing with the government, and he still was suffering the effects of gross blood loss, which was going to limit his workout. Also the hole in his side.

He knew he was being overdramatic, but he felt frustration all the way to his bones after a day with suits. He needed to burn off some of it, and a workout was the only way to do it. Well, there was another way, but he didn't think him and Steph were there yet. Although yesterday…yesterday had been progress. He just wished that they could have gotten there without bullet wounds.

He checked the schedule as he always did, a small monitor on the wall when he first walked through the doors. It listed the men and while he never did detailed audits of it, this gave him a good enough idea of who was getting the time they needed. He smirked when he saw Stephanie's name under today's date – a Saturday, of all days – and the 9-10 slot for her. It was almost 8:30 now and he knew if he was tired, then Stephanie was comatose. No, whoever had put her name on the schedule had done it as either a joke or a motivation tool. He didn't think either reason would have an actual effect on Stephanie's workout routine, or lack thereof.

He got on the stationary bike, which was the one thing that he could work up a sweat on without actually pulling any abdomen stitches. He hunched forward a bit to relieve the tension from his skin being pulled taut while leaning back, and got to work.

He felt the edge start to ebb away as he pedaled and after a while he was noticeably more relaxed, having achieved a comfortable, steady pace that still challenged his muscles.

He had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly a hand came down and stuck a gold shiny bow on the top of the bike's monitor, which was currently off. He cocked an eyebrow at the body connected to the hand – Bones' in this case.

"Today's gift, sir."

"My bike." It wasn't phrased a question, but Bones picked up on it.

"No, sir, Stephanie."

He wondered briefly if he had suffered a head trauma in addition to the blood loss on Thursday.

"She had me go over and make a workout plan for her that took into account her goals, body type, and skill level. She felt like she wasn't getting enough out of the gym, and she gets bored easily. It's today's gift for you." When Ranger didn't speak, still mulling it over in his head, he continued softly. "I think she's trying to convince to you – and me – that she is taking her safety seriously. In addition to training here on the weekends, she has a self-defense course at the local Y every week, and two nights of spin class."

He was stunned.

He shared a disbelieving – yet appreciative – look with Bones, who looked equally as humbled as Ranger felt.

If this was the new Stephanie, Ranger could not get enough of it.

How many times had he justified it to himself that getting in a relationship with Stephanie, a civilian without any training at all, would be more dangerous to her than he was willing to concede? How many times had he tried to convince her to go running with him?

He knew that only time would tell if she stuck with a new regimen. But this felt different to him, and he hoped it felt different to Stephanie too. She had recruited Bones, which was surprising to Ranger, but he knew that he would do a good job.

Just then, he heard the door open and looked up and to the side. She was there, creeping into the gym as if to avoid being seen by a bunch of security professionals, wearing tight yoga pants and a zip up hoodie, her hair in a wild bun on top of her head.

She looked around, being able to sense that he was in the gym (he'd never get enough of that) before sending him a small smile and a finger wave. She pulled out a piece of paper in her pocket and looked at it before taking a deep breath and walking to the treadmills.

"What's that?" Ranger asked Bones.

"She asked for a breakdown of all the equipment she should be using in the gym, and how and when to use it. I'm glad she's following it."

They watched as she stretched and started the slow pace of the treadmill, looking a bit wary as she hit the buttons, but then a look of determination settled on her face and she was off.

_Incredible_, Ranger thought. _Today's gift is incredible._


	17. December 16th

**A/N: Oh noooo! My first missed chapter! To be honest, I knew this day would come, but I had sort of expected it to be last Thursday during the business trip from hell. What actually happened was I went to a Christmas party on Saturday night and had a bit too much fun. (It's all girls really want, after all.) Unfortunately, I paid for that fun all day yesterday. I got home at around 7 a.m., and **_**collapsed**_**. I woke up in the afternoon but resigned myself to watching Nikita all day and I didn't even go anywhere near my computer. I'm really sorry! And hey, that means you get two chapters today, although I'll try and space them out by a few hours. I think (I'm hoping, at least) that this chapter will make up for the lack of one yesterday ;)**

* * *

Ranger was pleasantly surprised when he caught sight of Stephanie on Sunday morning in the gym. (Well, morning to her.) The surprises kept coming when she agreed to have lunch with him on 7, finally giving him the alone time he craved with her.

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Babe, if I had a nickel for every time someone said that and I got shot at, I'd be able to retire early."

Her face clouded at the idea of him being shot – _again_ – but she pressed on.

"I'm not Lester, I promise. The likelihood of a gun going off while choosing a Christmas tree with me is _very_ slim." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "I don't want to jinx it and say that it just won't happen."

"We have very different ideas of fun," he hedged. Really, he was just doing this to get to Steph. He knew, of course, that he would spend the day with her.

"There are _some_ things we agree on." Instantly, the atmosphere heated up and she was pretty sure she was going to spontaneously combust with the hot looks Ranger was sending her.

"Good point," he murmured, leaning close to her and nipping her neck, all under the guise of taking her plate.

She turned her head and their lips were mere inches apart.

"So you'll come?" She asked breathlessly after a moment.

"Yeah," he nuzzled his nose against hers, their breath mingling. "It'll be…_fun_."

* * *

Stephanie had been expecting a pretty fast trip. She had suggested the local chain grocery store, since she knew they had trees outside. She wasn't real particular as to what the tree looked like, and really, the most fun was decorating it anyways. She was excited to see Ranger's face at today's gift, as he had yet to receive it. He was being patient and not asking about it, but she knew that he was curious as to where it was.

However, Ranger had scoffed at her grocery store idea, and instead took them on the freeway, going up a few exits before turning off. He took her to a Christmas tree farm.

It was pretty crowded, being a Sunday almost a week before Christmas, but, in true Ranger style, he found a parking spot in the front row. Stephanie had actually been too busy looking around, wondering where on earth all these trees came from, that she jumped when Ranger opened her door for her.

"And who says chivalry is dead?" She asked with a pointed look at the gun in his hand.

"I was putting it beneath my jacket," Ranger explained, although he did look a bit bashful at that. He helped her down and locked the door to the Cayenne, leading her to the rows and rows of trees.

"I don't have to like, chop it down, do I?"

"I'm under no illusion that even if you did have to do that, that you would come anywhere near an axe."

"Smart man," she grinned and gave him a poke in the side.

He grabbed the offending finger, brought it to his mouth and placed a light kiss there before wrapping it around his waist as he slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Unfortunately, I don't think I'm in any shape to wielding an axe either, so our options may be limited."

"I think we have plenty of options," Steph said cryptically before tugging him along.

"What about this one?"

"Babe, it looks like it's been through a warzone."

She poked her tongue out at him. "That's why I thought you'd like it."

"And this one?"

"Too big. My apartment's ceilings aren't that tall I don't think. Maybe 8 feet."

"7 foot 9."

"Of course you know that," she muttered good-naturedly before setting off to find the perfect tree.

* * *

They had only been there fifteen minutes when Ranger heard the unmistakable sound of Stephanie's gasp. He responded immediately. She had been out of his sight, which was his own fault for getting too damn comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings, and now he was trying to pinpoint the sound of her gasp from the veritable forest in front of him.

"Stephanie?" He called out hesitantly, slipping his .45 in his hand. He wasn't really in any shape to fight, what with the hole in his side, but he knew Bobby could stitch him back up if it came down to it.

"Ranger." Her breath came out as a sigh, and he took two huge steps to get around a tree before spotting Stephanie in the middle of an 'aisle,' looking beautiful.

She was standing there, face up, eyes closed, with the most content look on her face.

"Babe?" He wasn't entirely sure that there wasn't a threat, but he did slowly reach to slip his gun back in his waistband.

Her eyes slid open and she gave him a secret smile, one that belied immense joy and pleasure. He always wished that he could feel the same things she did. He knew that even if he wasn't destined to have a soul as light as hers, that this was the next best thing. Watching her experience this kind of joy gave Ranger the peace he continuously craved.

"It's _snowing_," she said reverently, almost a whisper.

He glanced up and sure enough, tiny flakes were starting to float down from the heavens, barely discernible to the naked eye. He felt one settle on his face, melt instantly and he felt the tiniest bit of the same joy Stephanie was imbued with. She was grinning at him, and he felt his face slip into a responding grin.

She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, mindful of his wound in his abdomen. Her hands went under leather jacket, traced the outline of his guns gingerly (the one in his waistband and also his shoulder holster) and she finally settled them around his shoulders, pressing herself to him.

She was looking up at him, beaming, and he felt like it didn't matter at all what she gave him today. This was the best gift.

"I want this one," she said, motioning to a tree next to them. He nodded, never taking his eyes off hers. Whatever tree she wanted, she could have. He would give her anything she wanted.

He bent down, intent on giving her a chaste kiss, but the second their lips touched, he felt the accustomed burn settle within him. Oh, how he wanted this woman.

He slanted his mouth over hers, drinking her in, his hands running up and down her arms, a constant reminder of how real all of this was. That, coupled with the melting snowflakes that were coming down faster, and he felt a distinct sense of happiness settle upon him. He didn't think that life could feel better than this one moment.

* * *

He had to get Ram and Binkie to help get the tree upstairs into Stephanie's apartment. A part of him didn't want to share the day with anyone else, but his side was aching and he knew it would mean certain stitch-pulling if he tried to hoist the tree in himself.

They excused themselves quickly after settling the tree in the tree stand and making sure they didn't need anything else.

"How's that for service? They did all the boring work, and we just get the fun stuff."

Stephanie was bustling around, pulling over boxes that had been idling in the corner for the past few weeks. This was pretty late in the season for her to get a tree, but better late than never, right?

The tree had already been fluffed out and Stephanie had strung the lights in mere minutes, citing Ranger's side as to why she didn't want his help. Truth be told, she was nervous that if she made him do any of the boring stuff, then he'd leave all the sooner, not interested any longer.

"So, since you've been such a patient man, I think now is time for your gift."

He didn't want to look impatient at all, especially since now she was commending him, but the idea of his gift had been in the back of his mind all day. He had no idea that once she started this, it would be _him_ that couldn't wait for the next installment.

"I thought the tree hunting was today's gift?" He questioned innocently.

"Is everything a hunt for you?" She teased as she turned on the radio, smiling as Bing Crosby's crooning voice flowed out of the speakers. "And as for today, it was kind of just a means to give you today's gift. Hope you don't mind."

"I had a great time today, Steph," he told her sincerely.

"Me too." That secret smile again. It was starting to drive Ranger mad.

She presented him with a square box that barely fit inside his palm. At her encouragement, he pulled off the top, staring at the gift sitting in tissue paper. It was an ornament, which was, of course, grossly appropriate for the day.

It was a black ball with a white circle facing him. Within that circle was an unmistakable hand drawn plum.

He gently pulled it out of the box, dangling it by the hook that had already been placed on it, and let it spin slowly from his fingers. On the back, in elegant silver script on the black ball, it said "Merry Christmas Ranger."

"It's your first Christmas done Plum style," Stephanie explained, her cheeks flushed.

"First?" Did that mean she was planning more?

Her cheeks brightened considerably at that and she turned around, hanging a random ornament on the tree, her fingers shaking lightly.

"Yeah, I know, how presumptuous," she joked, although he could hear the nervousness underneath her voice.

He stood up behind her, leaning into her as he hung the ornament on a branch in front of her.

"I like presumptuous," he told her, his arm still stretched out in front of her. "And I love the ornament."

His voice was hot and heavy against her neck and she felt her pulse quicken and the familiar throb of hormones that seemed to happen whenever she was in such close proximity to him.

She turned around in his arms, the Christmas tree to her back, and took the initiative that she didn't even know she had, and pressed her lips against his.

He was a bit taken aback, but in a very good way. If he had ever been capable of what some would call a clumsy kiss, this would have been it, but their lips melded in such a seamless way, it was nothing short of perfect to them. His hands found her back pockets, slipping inside and pulling her closer to him, as her fingers reached up to tangle in his short, but still completely touchable hair.

They broke apart briefly, their eyes finding each other in silent communication.

It had gotten darker outside, with the blanket of snow still falling steadily, and the only light was the soft gold glow from the tree. It made everything seem ethereal and magical and so very _Christmas like._

A nonverbal agreement was made and once again Stephanie's lips were on his, but this time he was taking steps backwards, leading her to the bedroom.


	18. December 17th

**A/N: So this one is a bit short - I think it was a victim of my impromtu cliffhanger a few chapters back (I had never intended to make that into a cliffhanger until someone suggested putting one in, so it took some creative chapter editing.) but just consider it a sort of bonus for today! Anyways, we're getting into the home stretch, and everyone knows that's when the best stuff happens. :) Love you all for reviewing and liking and following and celebrating the season with me!**

* * *

They had almost reached the hallway leading to the bedroom when Stephanie stumbled a bit, pushing Ranger into the wall. He couldn't help the grunt of pain that escaped his mouth as his stitches tugged. He took deep breaths to work through the uncomfortable combination of pain and hormones, but it was enough for Stephanie to take a step back and look at him.

"Oh my gosh, your side! I'm so sorry! I forgot and then we were kissing and then…damn! You haven't had meds in forever. I'll go get some for you-"

She turned to leave and he tugged her arm back and spun her into him, on his good side. Her hand rested on his chest and she looked all out of sorts and it was adorable.

"But your meds –"

"This is pretty good medicine right now." He was still breathing deeper than he normally did, but the pain had started to ebb and the quick feel he gave his stomach told him that the gauze had remained dry, so he wasn't bleeding. All good things. But it did give him a reality check – sex with Stephanie wasn't going to happen tonight. It needed to be better than he could offer at that moment, which was limited mobility and gentle touches.

He rerouted his frustration in his brain to determination. As much as he wanted Steph right then and there (and God knows he did), he wouldn't let this be anything less than amazing. And one way to guarantee amazingness was to not have stitches in his side. They would come out on Thursday, he believed, so he just needed to be careful with them until then. And refrain from having sex with Stephanie.

He had no idea which would be harder.

* * *

The rest of the night, after talking their sex drives down off a ledge, was spent decorating the tree and watching the city of Trenton get covered in a thin blanket of snow. It wasn't as much as Stephanie had hoped for, in any regard, but it was still a pretty perfect evening. Ranger had to leave before it got too late as he had some more reports to run for work and the roads were getting icy, but he stayed for dinner and even watched _It's A Wonderful Life_ with her. She had wanted nothing more than for him to stay over, but she knew that neither of them could trust themselves. And as much as she wanted Ranger, she wanted it to be everything and more, and he assured her that that was coming. Just not right now.

Much like her.

Monday morning came all too soon and she grinned, laying there in bed, thinking of today's gift. Again, it was silly, but mutually beneficial to both her and Ranger.

She had recruited Ella, which had been slightly embarrassing, but she knew the woman enjoyed the task. Ella was having almost as much fun as Stephanie was, as she watched her nephew grow closer and closer to the woman he loved. Being asked to hang a bit of mistletoe in Ranger's office was the least she could do, and, while she would never tell Stephanie, not at all one of the weirder things she had done for the men of Rangeman Inc.

So after a long, hot shower, some quality time with her shower massager, and doing her hair to perfection, Stephanie was ready for work. Or to do work. Or something.

Form fitting black jeans and the cashmere sweater (she hated that she loved it so much), and she was out the door with a wave to Rex. She knew that it might be Monday, but she had a good feeling about today.

* * *

She was about to reconsider her stance on Mondays, as this one was proving not to be the evil soul-sucking day that they typically were.

First, she came through the lobby, and could not stop smiling at the huge tree. Then, Cal told her, as he was on the front desk with Cable, that there was supposed to be a storm coming in time for Christmas. A snow storm. Could anything be more perfect? _Then_, she got to her desk, and there, on a red napkin, was a Boston crème donut.

She devoured it with relish, telling herself that it made sense to eat it before turning on her computer, because who wanted chocolate on their keyboard? She booted up, greeting the men that came by, happy to see that the holiday spirit was still alive and kicking at Rangeman.

Finally, she made her way to Ranger's office.

She knew that he had to be aware of her presence as she leaned on the doorframe, taking in the scene, but it was one of those moments where she wished she could take a picture.

He was sitting at his desk, hunched over paperwork, with glasses on the tip of his nose. He was wearing a black sweater (was that a white undershirt collar peeking out?) and his hair, while not as long as it usually was, hung loose around his ears. He looked _edible_. He also had his miniature Christmas tree plugged in and lit up, and she could've been wrong, but it looked like a few other miscellaneous trinkets had been moved. Someone had been playing, it would seem.

"Not polite to stare, Stephanie." She could hear the amusement lace through his voice.

"It's not nice to look that good on a Monday morning," she tossed back saucily, entering the office fully.

He looked up at that, surprised by her boldness.

"I could say the same to you," he said as his eyes drank in her appearance.

"This old thing?" She brushed a nonexistent speck of lint off her sweater. "Had it lying around for years."

He smiled at that and stood from his desk, coming around to greet her. He slipped his glasses off and rested them near his mouse pad and cleared a small spot. He sat down on the edge of his desk facing her, before finally reaching out to snag her by the hips and pull her to him.

"You're in a good mood this morning."

"Mmm, someone left me sugar to get going. That's how you know it's going to be a good day."

"Oh yeah? Someone left me _chapstick _this morning. Makes a guy wonder if she's trying to tell him something."

She had almost forgot that had been the actual "gift," as she was so focused on Ella hanging the mistletoe. She instinctively looked up, trying to figure out where she had hung it when she realized it was right above where they were standing. Sneaky man.

"Would you look at that?"

"Hm. Would you look at that." He pulled her even closer, now feeling her warm body pressed against his completely. "It's a sign."

"Thought you don't believe in signs?" She murmured, staring at his lips as they came closer and closer. She had no idea what words were coming out of her mouth at this point; she was borderline incoherent.

"I believe in you," he whispered, before closing the distance.

Liquid heat seeped through her body as they kissed deeply and fully. Unlike last night, where they both had plans for the bedroom, this was slightly more contained, as they were aware of their surroundings. (Well, Steph felt confident enough that Ranger was aware.) But still, they were in no rush at all.

Minutes crept by and the kissing continued. Stephanie felt almost juvenile in their blatant making out, but it had been so long since they had been able to do this uninterrupted. His hand eventually drifted to her back pocket, again (she was starting to think he had a thing for those) and the other stroked her rib cage gently, his thumb sweeping back and forth. Stephanie busied herself with his hair, one firmly fisted in it, holding him tightly to her. Her other hand trailed from his hair down his jawline, a firm reminder of just how real this all was.

"They're barely breathing," a voice said from the door.

"Bobby will be pissed if he has to resuscitate _both_ of them."

"Why am I going to be – oh, come _on_, what is this, a peep show?"

Ranger broke the kiss slowly, resting his forehead against hers as their breathing slowed. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before facing the three clowns at his door.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, but maybe not in the same way you helped Steph…"

"As a medic, I can tell you that there really are better ways to check her tonsils."

"Are you guys done?" Stephanie asked with a smile on her face. It didn't seem like Ranger was getting upset, and she could always handle a little good-natured ribbing from the guys.

"You guys sure weren't done," Tank spoke up from the corner, a smirk on his face.

Steph could tell that Ranger wanted to smile, but he kept his face neutral.

"Residential break in on Crawford, looking for the big man in charge. And for once, they mean you, not Santa." Steph snorted at this and Lester sent her a wink.

"Julio has been blowing up my phone. Says you won't answer yours."

"That's because I don't want to talk to him," Ranger told Tank. "Last time I answered his call, I got screamed at by my mother for an hour."

"Is it because you don't have very good phone manners?" Steph questioned innocently, causing smiles all across the room.

"No, Babe, although she does hate that too."

"I'm just here because Lester said there was a medical emergency. Lack of oxygen, you know the drill."

"Santos, the next time you want to misappropriate medical personnel, keep in mind the fact that you will need them shortly thereafter."

"I'll see you later," Stephanie murmured, planting a kiss on Ranger's cheek, sensing the work to be done. "And Bobby, there is a medical emergency on this floor that I think you should know about."

"Oh yeah? Where?" He asked as he moved out of her way to exit the office.

"Lester seems to have his head stuck up his ass."


	19. December 18th

**A/N: A different kind of gift today, folks!**

**Also, I was an hour late for work today due to decorating Christmas cookies. I can't decide if this is a really good reason to be late, or a really bad one. Either way - sorry this is kind of late today, but I hope you like it!**

* * *

She felt kind of nervous about today's gift. It was approaching lunchtime, and she knew it was now or never, but suddenly never seemed to be a better option. It just felt wrong somehow; if you do a good deed, then getting recognition isn't the point. It cheapened the whole thing a bit.

But this wasn't about recognition, she told herself for the thirtieth time. This was about wanting to share a tradition with Ranger. She had kind of made tiny alterations to make it more appealing to him, but… she just hoped he was interested.

Tank had checked with the schedule and nothing was on Ranger's roster for the afternoon. He had been with the accountant and financial department that morning, going over Christmas bonuses and signing year-end paperwork, but that meeting got out about an hour ago. His schedule was significantly freed up due to the bullet wound in his side, and Steph found herself oddly grateful. Kind of. Maybe.

It was getting to be time.

She knocked on his door and entered upon request.

He got up out of his seat as she entered and met her under the mistletoe.

After a brief, but passionate, kiss, Ranger smiled at her softly.

"It's the gift that keeps on giving."

She could definitely agree with that.

He could sense that she had something on her mind and decided to just wait it out. He liked to allow her time to gather her thoughts instead of just pushing the issue like the cop did.

"You don't have anything on your schedule for this afternoon, right?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. If she already knew his schedule, she definitely had something up her sleeve.

"I'm free."

"So, um," she looked down, wringing her hands together. "Today's gift isn't really a _physical_ thing. If that's okay."

"Babe, it's more than okay. I don't need anything physical from you." He squeezed her hip gently, causing her to bite her lip. "Well, maybe _something_ physical…"

She smacked him lightly, rolling her eyes.

"I wanted to give you…a tradition. Or, well, it's my tradition. Kind of. This is a new take on it though. So I don't know if I can really call it a tradition." She was rambling.

"Babe."

She took a deep breath.

"I want to take you some place."

"Okay."

"Just like that? Okay? You're going to go with me?"

Ranger gave her a single nod.

"Oh. Um, okay then. Let's go."

* * *

"Babe?" He was following her directions, but she had led him to a place that he was somewhat familiar with, although he had no idea how she would know that.

He put the Cayenne in park and looked at her expectantly.

"Every year, I try to go out and make a difference. Usually it's the Trenton food bank, or sometimes the Women's Shelter, but I guess I get nervous about bringing trouble there. This year I thought I'd…volunteer here. With you."

They were at the VA Hospital just outside of Orange. A place that Ranger knew very well.

Silence surrounded them.

"Babe…this is…"

"I'm sorry." She blurted out, suddenly realizing how horrible of an idea this was. "I wasn't even thinking what this would be like for you, or how hard it could be. It's too much. Or not enough. Or something. You know what, why don't we just go? We don't have to do anything."

"Stephanie."

She gulped. "Yeah."

"There's someone I'd like for you to meet."

* * *

"Stephanie Plum, this is First Sergeant Deckler. He was my CO during most of my time overseas. Taught me everything I know."

The old man in front of Stephanie wheezed out a laugh, clapping his hand on his thigh.

"You can still bullshit with the rest of them, Manoso."

He was sitting in a wheelchair, dressed in traditional blue scrub pajamas, his head bald save for a patch of wispy white hair.

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"Manoso's never brought a chicky with him before. You're responsible for keeping him in line all these years?"

"With all due respect sir, I'm not sure Ranger even knows where the lines are. I certainly don't."

He guffawed at that, a loud chuffing laugh that was infectious. He motioned to the chairs in front of him, ushering them down.

"Sit, sit, you're making me feel short."

They took their spots across from him, with Stephanie noticing how Ranger's entire posture changed in front of this man. It was a man that he truly respected and revered. He was sitting closer, straighter, and while he did exude a kind of relaxed air about him, Stephanie sensed that he was also on alert, ever ready to protect.

"You two better be off to someplace nice after this. He's spending too much time here as it is, and now he's dragging you here? Puh! It's no wonder you're not married."

Ranger actually rolled his eyes at that.

"He thinks he's my mother."

"You probably visit me more than you visit your mother! How's that for some parental guilt for you?"

Ranger gave what Stephanie knew to be an over exaggerated grimace. "Thanks for that. Always appreciated."

"Now what's a pretty young thing like yourself doing with that hunk of junk? Time to trade in, get an upgrade." He tossed her a wink that drew a laugh out of Stephanie. Somehow he made himself not at all creepy, just a kindly old man.

"Careful, Babe. He's got a harem of women here. They follow him around like a regimented platoon."

"Could always use one more!"

"This one's mine, sorry Deck."

"Yeah, yeah, always sorry. She the one you told me about?"

Stephanie looked at Ranger, stunned. He talked about her to other people? Unless he talked about _other_ women, and this man was mistaken…

"Yes," Ranger confirmed, still staring into Stephanie's eyes. "Yes it is."

* * *

"The boy couldn't even manage to keep his trousers up for three seconds! It was a miracle that we even got him off that base. I told my CO, this battalion, this group never does Hawaii again. Never!"

Stephanie was hunched over, laughing harder than she had laughed in months. This man in front of her was nothing like she expected. Somehow, she always thought that the soldiers that were career men, that they'd always be hardened and stoic. She thought that you had to get out early to still retain that piece of you, but Deck was proving her all wrong. And the stories! He strayed away from ones that he thought might "incriminate" Ranger, but she loved the tales of Lester as a lothario. It was so completely expected, but Deck had a cadence and a form to his storytelling that they were all a riot.

Ranger laughed in his own seat, his grin huge. He, of course, had heard all the stories before, but he was grateful that Stephanie was bringing them out of the old man in front of him.

It was a bit touch and go with Deckler, unfortunately. Ranger never knew what kind of mood he would be in when he got there; sometimes he was quiet and withdrawn, other times angry and sullen with the world, and cursing Carlos out before he could even get in the room. The best times were times like these, when he was the man he knew in the Army. A tough guy, for sure, but also a fun guy. Once they had separated battalions, Ranger and the First Sergeant had left behind their subordinate relationship and entered an easy one of mutual appreciation and respect. It was an unlikely friendship to anyone on the outside, but it worked.

He had expected Deckler to be in one of his infamous moods that day, as he almost always was near the holidays. He wanted to introduce Steph, and then back out quickly, so as to not spoil anything with surliness. This camaraderie was more than he expected.

He had offered more times than he could count to get Deck at-home care. The man was prideful and stubborn, and insisted on staying at the VA once he was diagnosed with Gulf War syndrome. As it were, Ranger donated a lot of time and money to make sure his stay was comfortable.

"Ranger, wouldn't that be hilarious?" Steph's hand on his thigh brought him out of his reverie.

"Hmm?"

"If Deck met Grandma Mazur? I could just picture it now. They'd rob a casino blind and then get a bunch of strippers in a hotel room."

"Sounds like my kind of lady!"

"Babe, that's on the brink of causing a national incident."

"Fair enough. But it'd be worth it."

He listened for a few minutes to Stephanie try and talk her grandmother up as if she _wasn't_ a complete nutjob (although Deck seemed to pick up on the craziest tidbits and comment on them positively), until finally a nurse poked her head in the sunroom.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, I hate to interrupt, but it's getting late and First Sergeant Deckler has an appointment with the nutritionist in a while, and then its dinner. I pushed it back as long as I could…"

"No, no, you're fine Deborah. I've held up these two youngsters long enough."

Ranger pulled out his phone to look at the time and found that it was nearing 6 pm. Not only that, but he had 17 missed text messages and 9 missed calls. Shit.

He stood, causing Stephanie to stand too. He almost held her back, but he watched as Deck handled her tight hug carefully, and even allowed his eyes to close briefly as he savored it. Deck was not a man he knew to be particularly tactile, but, as usual, Stephanie brought it out in everyone.

He shook hands with Deck, allowing their parting words to be said silently.

With a single nod and a commitment to come back soon – and bring the lady dumb enough to spend time with him willingly – Ranger and Steph took their leave.

Steph was fighting tears as she followed Ranger back to the car, who had apologized as soon as they stepped out the doors, but he had to call the control room to get a sit rep.

She felt overcome with emotion, but not necessarily bad ones. These were just all encompassing, all good, and all over the place. That man had been incredible. He was so strong and stalwart and reminded her of Ranger in a lot of different ways. She could see why they'd be drawn to one another.

"Babe? What's wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing." She swiped at any stray tears that may have escaped. "Just lots of emotions, I guess."

"I'm sorry we didn't get to do your plan today."

"Are you kidding me? That was way better." She put her hand gently on Ranger's arm, making sure he was focused on her. "Thank you for introducing me to him, Ranger. That meant a lot to me."

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips, thanking the powers that be that led this wonderful woman to him.

"Is everything okay at Rangeman?"

"You park on the street this morning, Babe?"

He looked serious but also very curious.

"Yeah…" She had taken to parking there so that she could come through the lobby. It was free parking during the day, and it had helped her actually man up and become decent at parallel parking. That, and it allowed the world to see her reindeer car!

"It seems it got towed this morning."

"Towed? Why?"

"Not sure, Babe. My men don't know either."

They were walking to the car briskly when Steph put her hand out to stop him.

"Ranger. Who towed my car?"

It had better not be who she thought it was.

"Morelli, Babe. Morelli towed your car."


	20. December 19th

**A/N: Almost party time! Almost Christmastime! Aaaah! What am I going to do when this story is done? (Well, I am working on another one, but this one is so fluffy and fun and...and...and it's my _baby_.) Hope you like today's chapter and are looking forward to party time in Trenton!**

* * *

Ranger had talked her down the whole drive back to Trenton, but something about seeing Joe Morelli so smug in the middle of the Trenton Police Station brought back all the anger and incredulity she had been feeling before, and not even Ranger could stop her now as she pulled out of his grasp and stormed towards Joe.

"You are a real piece of work, Morelli! Are you _kidding_ me? You towed my car? First you threaten Mooner and Dougie and now you tow my _car_?"

Ranger stood back and let Steph handle this herself, despite wanting to go over there and pin Joe Morelli to the wall by his throat. This was Stephanie's fight until she said otherwise.

Joe turned around slowly, an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Ms. Plum, are you here to pick up your car? I'm sorry, the impound lot closes at 7. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

"The hell I am. Give me my car back."

"Careful. If you don't lower your voice, I might have to book you on disturbing the peace."

"Listen, you are never going to know peace for the rest of your life if you don't –"

Ranger swooped in, arm around Steph's shoulder, bringing her close to him so he could speak softly in her ear.

"Let's not antagonize the locals, okay Babe?"

She calmed, as she usually did when Ranger touched her, and took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts.

"Officer Morelli, can you please tell me why my car was towed today?"

"It's Detective Morelli."

"That's what I said," she got out with a sweet, if not completely fake, smile.

"Your car," Joe adjusted his tie, feeling slightly uncomfortable by this point, "was parked in a Rangeman parking spot, specific for employees. Since you are not an employee of Rangeman...at least not in a professional sense," he sneered, "I was responsible for moving your car."

"What are you talking about? Of course I work at Rangeman!"

"You have listed here on your bond license application that you are a fugitive apprehension agent at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. Are you telling me that you lied on an official document?"

Stephanie actually had to turn away and look at Ranger in order to gain some composure. Her eyes were wild and Ranger could tell she was at the end of her rope. Morelli was just trying to rile her, to get a reaction, although he was sure that the cop hadn't planned on both of them coming to the station together.

"I work at Rangeman Inc _and_ at the bond shop. You know this, Joe. So just give me back my car and I will go home."

"It's a lot of paperwork, Cupcake. Could take a while. You could always forget the paperwork and come have dinner at my house tonight, of course."

"Excuse me?"

Ranger had to cut in at this point, his blood was boiling.

"Office Morelli you better know exactly what you are doing, and you better not be trying to use your position of power to gain any special favors from Ms. Plum. There are a lot of people here that would be interested in knowing how you use your power."

"Oh, because you _definitely_ don't know anything about abusing your power, right Manoso?"

"Joe!"

"Stephanie, look at him! If he's really your boss and you're sleeping with him, that's an abuse of power if I've ever seen one! He's a _psychopath_, Cupcake! And you are delusional if you think he can offer you anything more than a roll in the sheets and a dirty condom. For Christ's sake, he's gotten shot twice in the past few months. Next time it's going to be you!"

"You are out of line, Morelli." Eddie Gazarra came up behind him, clapping him on the shoulder firmly.

"My thoughts exactly," Stephanie bit out, furious at this point. "I'll be back tomorrow, Eddie, to get my car out of the impound lot."

Ranger started to guide her to the door, realizing that rational thought was beyond Joe at that moment.

"And you better hope no kids see my reindeer in car jail, Morelli!" Stephanie called back as it occurred to her. "You are such a goddamn _Grinch_!"

* * *

Ranger dropped Steph at her apartment after they got dinner, assuring her he'd pick her up tomorrow and they could go to the station together.

Morelli was clearly just trying to rile both Stephanie and Ranger at the station, and he had to admit, if it had been two months ago, it might have worked. The line about Stephanie getting shot next – that was his biggest fear. But as Stephanie pressed another light kiss against his cheek as he stood in her doorway, he felt rejuvenated hope that they were headed in the right direction.

"_I'll see you tomorrow, right? Bright and early?"_ _Stephanie tucked one of _his_ errant locks behind his ear._

"_Babe, I wouldn't call 7 am 'bright and early.'"_

"_Well, maybe not to you superheroes, but for mortals it is. I need my car back for tomorrow."_

"_Any reason why? I can always pick you up, Steph. Or loan you a car."_

"_It has plans tomorrow. And besides, I have self-defense class after work. Wanna make sure I show up in style."_

He knew that she was taking this seriously, and that was all he needed from her. Just that and a never ending supply of her kisses. That was it.

* * *

"Babe."

"You don't like it?"

This was the first time she had given him a gift outside of office, but since it was at her house and he was picking her up (with a donut in hand! If she wasn't sure she loved him before…), it just seemed right that he get a little morning treat as well.

"I'm not sure I even know what it is."

"Of course you do! It's a Magic 8 Ball."

"What do I do?"

"You ask it a question, and it gives you an answer. Here." She took off the red bow she had placed on top, and went to put it on the counter. Ranger's hand stopped hers, took the bow, and tucked it into one of his many cargo pockets. She smiled at him and handed the toy back. "Ask it a question about me."

"I could just ask you."

"You could, but what if I didn't answer?"

His cocked eyebrow told her that there was no way she wouldn't answer one of his questions. She figured him right and rolled her eyes, but continued to urge him to use it.

"It has to be a yes or no question. Go on, try it."

Ranger sighed, but she could see his face fighting a smile. He started to shake the ball and ask a question.

"Will Stephanie –"

"Ahh!" She held up a hand, effectively stopping him. "You can't say it out loud!"

She could tell he wanted to question her sanity at this point, but she just waved him on.

"Ok." He looked upwards, asked a question silently, and shook the ball. He looked down at the answer and seemed decidedly more amused. He held it out for her to see.

_Focus and ask again._

"See? Even the ball knows you're not taking this seriously!"

"How can I take it seriously, Babe? It's a ball."

"It's a _magic_ ball."

They shared a secret look and Stephanie couldn't help but feel overjoyed at that moment. She loved playful Ranger, and that was definitely who she was dealing with right now. He was humoring her and giving her a hard time and she absolutely _loved_ it.

"Ok, I'll try harder."

"Thank you. All I ask."

He closed his eyes tight this time when thinking of his question, then shook the ball hard. Upon seeing his new answer, he sighed, and held it out again for Steph's eyes. She burst into laughter. He hadn't thought it was particularly humorous, but then again, she didn't know his question, either.

_Cannot predict now_.

As Stephanie continues to laugh, hunching over this time, he had to ask.

"What is so funny, Babe?"

She finally got her bearings and looked up at him, grinning infectiously.

"I got it for those times when you can't read my mind!"

* * *

Getting the car was an easy process, mostly because Morelli was nowhere to be found. There was a slight battle over who would pay the impound lot fees, but Stephanie had relented to Ranger's "it was a workplace issue" argument and allowed him to use his card. Mostly, she chose to do this because Ranger, for some absurd reason, seemed to enjoy spending money on Stephanie, and since she wanted to go shopping today, she needed him happy. Although, if she thought about it, Ranger also enjoyed letting Stephanie do whatever she wanted. Either way, the money saved was going towards a new dress for the party tomorrow night.

She kissed him a sweet goodbye before heading to the bonds office, hoping to coerce (oh, who was she kidding?) Lula into going shopping with her.

"I smelled that biscuit sandwich when you was two blocks away!"

Lula dove for the McDonalds bag that Steph held out patiently and she doled out the sandwiches accordingly, leaving three for her.

"Heya Steph," Connie waved from her desk, unwrapping a sandwich with her talons. (_Nails_, Stephanie chided herself.)

"How's it going, Connie?"

Before she could even respond, Lula interrupted, waving a hash brown in the air.

"Oh yeah yeah, things are great, let's get to the good stuff, white girl! How's _Batman?"_

"He's good." She answered shortly and promptly took a huge bite of her sandwich.

Eyebrows rose across the room.

"If you think one bite of your sandwich is enough to make me change my mind, you gots another thing comin'."

She swallowed thickly, looking up fairly guiltily.

"What do you want to know?"

"Obviously we want to know how big his d-"

"Morning, ladies."

Ranger and Bobby walked through the doors, looking nothing short of perfect in their black cargoes and black leather coats with distinctive bulges. Ranger looked at Stephanie, a smile playing on his lips.

"McDonalds, Babe? I gave you a donut two hours ago."

She smiled guiltily, even as she heard Lula and Connie start to whisper to each other. Damn Ranger – he had used purposefully ambiguous language, so as to make the girls think that he had spent the night with her. He _definitely_ heard what Lula was about to say.

"He in?" Connie nodded and motioned to Vinnie's door. Ranger leaned down and kissed her hard and deep before pulling away. "Later, Babe."

"Bomber." Bobby tipped an imaginary hat to her and then mimed fanning himself with it as he followed Ranger into the office. Steph elbowed his leg as he went by, but felt even better when Ranger stopped short and Bobby stumbled into him. As they disappeared behind closed doors, the interrogation continued.

"No way. Not here, not with Vinnie and his bugs creeping around."

"Aw shit, you should've seen the size of a cockroach we had the other day!"

"That is not what I am talking about Lula."

"Girl, I know that! We was talking about size of _Ranger's_ cockr-"

"Okay, let's go!" Steph stood up and herded Lula out the door. "I'd feel bad for not talking to you personally, Con, but I know Lula will just tell you everything later anyways."

"She better!"

* * *

They poked around Macy's for an hour before conceding that they needed to go deeper into the mall for something truly awesome for the party, and Steph let details of her and Ranger's courtship trickle out.

"He seems happier, Lula."

"Girl, anyone can see that! You've gone and made him happy and it's a Christmas miracle!" Lula proclaimed, throwing her hands out, almost taking out a harried shopper. "Whatchu lookin' at? You never see a full-figured black woman praisin' the Lord? That's what's wrong with Jersey, ain't none of them fancy southern Baptist churches…"

Steph hustled away with Lula, entering a smaller boutique that she'd had some luck with before. A bit pricy, but this was a very important party.

"You still giving him that last gift? Seems like it's a bit unnecessary now, don't you think?"

Steph bit her lip. That had been something she had been wrestling with as well.

"I think so. Mostly because I already bought it." She held up a fuchsia dress that Lula instantly vetoed. "Besides, I want him to know that even after all of this – even if it was just _one_ great month, that I still respect him and what he wants, you know?"

"I think you be crazy, but if I already spent that much money on something, I'd be giving it to him and then making him promise to wear it every day."

"Am I too pale for this, Lula?" Steph held up a dark silver dress to her small frame.

"Not really," Lula waffled, before picking up a brighter silver version of the same dress. "But I think this would go better with you."

"Silver's Christmasy, right?" She looked in a mirror, holding the dress up to herself. "But that's the color of the decorations, too. Don't you think I'll look stupid?"

"Girl, ain't no one gonna look stupid in that dress. Go try it on. If anything, you be matchin' that place like you was made for it!"

She pushed her into a dressing room, already spying some shoes that would look great with it.

This here was going to be a Christmas party to remember!


	21. December 20th

**A/N: Uhhh so as you can see, I struggled with dividing this chapter. So I just didn't. But hey, it's later in the day, so you're entitled to a long one. Now there might be some scenes that seem superfluous or like they don't add anything to the story, but they really build to the conviction that each of the characters have towards this new relationship. Anyways. This is freakin' huge, and I'm sorry if you think it should be multiple chapters, I just couldn't figure out a good way to break it up. Thanks for reading and reviewing and being so nice!**

* * *

Steph checked her watch again. Nearing noon. Hector was supposed to have called by now!

She sighed and figured she'd just have to wait and see what he said. She might even run into him at her apartment. But she had to get a head start on getting ready for the party or else she'd be running around with her head cut off later.

Rangeman was a flurry of activity today. She hadn't even seen Ranger really, save for a brilliant smile he shot her earlier from over the cubicle walls as he went to meet an investor. She was glad she was leaving when she was for a lot of reasons – namely, this afternoon was when the heads of the other branches started coming in.

She knew Ranger's brother Julio ran the Miami office, and then his _other_ brother, César, was a high-up in Rangeman Boston. She was torn between wanting to meet them as soon as possible to wanting to _never_ meet them. She shuddered to think of the stories they must have heard about her. But she was going to be an adult and meet them tonight…when she looked fantastic.

That was _sort of_ adultlike, right?

She slipped out of her cubicle, said bye to the few guys she passed, and then told Tank she was headed out.

She opened the door to the stairwell (part of her whole new 'being healthy thing.' And also she had eaten five sugar cookies that morning so far.) and heard voices a few flights below her.

"Is that her car on the street? The reindeer?" She didn't recognize the voice, but assumed it had to be a guy from another office.

"Yeah, it is." That smooth voice was definitely Ranger's.

The other man laughed heartily.

"It's a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"

"It's Stephanie's, of course it's ridiculous." She felt her heart speed up and sink at that. Is that really what he thought? Everything she did was ridiculous?

"I heard a rumor that she even decorated the fifth floor. You're really at the bottom of the barrel trying to find jobs for her, aren't you?"

"Stephanie doesn't need me to find her a job. She has a job. One that she is very good at."

"Oh yeah? How good at it, hermano?" Steph could hear the innuendo dripping from every word.

Just when she was about to turn around and make a run for the elevator, intent on avoiding any confrontation, she heard an _Oof!_

"Cut the shit, Julio. Stephanie is a harder worker than you were when I hired you. She worked for her spot at Rangeman, don't you forget that."

"You trying to tell me I didn't work for my spot?"

"I'm trying to tell you that you better treat Stephanie with a hell of a lot more respect than you're showing her now." She could practically hear him smirk. "And that Mama would've disowned me if I refused to hire my baby brother."

Steph felt herself smile at that, and quickly ducked out of the stairwell so that she didn't get caught unintentionally eavesdropping. Skipping to the elevator, she felt like a million bucks. Tonight was going to be perfect, and she was going to impress the hell out of Julio and make Ranger proud, if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

It was approaching four PM by the time she had gotten back from her time at the salon. She justified the pampering that definitely could've been completed at her own apartment by the fact that she was meeting Ranger's family. This wasn't _just_ a Rangeman party.

And besides, Hector might still be at her apartment.

She still had some maintenance to do – shaving and plucking and the like – but she felt so relaxed and at ease, she was surprising herself. She wondered briefly if she was crazy; shouldn't she be going crazy at the thought of tonight? But she decided ultimately to not question it and to just enjoy the ride.

She had gotten her hair done alone with a manicure and pedicure, and that had eaten up most of the time. She might have splurged for a shoulder rub with her hair appointment, but she was pretty sure that only added a minute or so. Or twenty.

Her hair was shiny, hanging down her back in elegant, perfect curls. It was pinned away from her face with a tiny roll at the top and she couldn't help but feel like she was a 1940's movie star. She had described her dress to Mr. Alexander before simply relenting and showing him a picture Lula had snapped on her phone. It wasn't the most flattering, but it at least was a good idea of what it looked like.

He had instantly fallen in love with the idea of vintage glam, and had dolled her up appropriately. She hadn't let him indulge in doing her makeup, although he seemed to want to, but he did give her some good ideas for tonight. She wasn't sold on the idea of red lips, but it was tempting.

She got to her apartment and the door was open, but there was also the sound of an electric drill going on. Hector was still busy at work, apparently.

"Hola, Hector," she called out, intent on not scaring the Rangeman employee. A bullet wound would really put a damper on tonight's festivities. A small voice reminded her that Hector's weapon of choice was a 12 inch knife he kept on him at all times, but she quieted it down promptly. The last thing she needed was to be terrified of the man doing her a personal favor.

"Estefania!"

He sounded actually excited, which was very different from the quiet, subdued Hector she usually dealt with. The small man poked his head around the corner, spying her in the hallway, and brought her into her apartment by her wrist.

"Whoa, Hector!"

She looked around her apartment, sufficiently impressed and a little bit overwhelmed. She had asked him to put in a basic security system, but better than the ones she had before. Previously, Ranger had dumbed down security systems, knowing that Stephanie's aversion to learning new things would extend to her own personal safety as well. She was determined this time to not let that stand in her way this time. She wanted this to be about safety versus her own inabilities.

However, whatever Hector had set up did _not_ look basic in the least. There was a control panel on the wall, with the cover hanging off of it and enough wires to power the whole building, she felt. Blueprints of her apartment were draped over her table, and she knew enough that he hadn't _just_ drawn those up today. No, those were Rangeman issued. She forced the typical feeling of intrusion out of her mind and reminded herself that it was for her own good. These men protected her daily.

It was all she could do to give them a little peace of mind in the form of a security system.

"Si, si?" Hector pointed to the motion sensors above her windows and doors.

"Si, si!" Stephanie agreed, still working through the awe that her apartment was now more guarded than the Pentagon. At least, that's what it felt like to her. She was sure she'd reconsider once it got broken into again.

"_No_," Hector smiled a huge smile at her. "See! _Mira_! See here, and see here," he pointed to the window again.

"Hold up!" Stephanie dug her heels in as Hector attempted to show her another facet of her security system. "I'm having a culture shock right now. Can you speak English?"

"_Si_."

Stephanie raised her eyebrows at him, drawing a small laugh.

"Yes." It wasn't even heavily accented! She was in shock.

"Since when?"

"Since I learned about 8 years ago." The accent was more prominent than she had originally thought, but she was still in awe. "You really think Ranger would hire someone who only spoke Spanish in a New Jersey security firm?"

"I don't know! Why did you let me ask you to do this with all those weird hand gestures?"

"_Muy hilarioso_."

"I don't even think that was real Spanish!"

He laughed aloud at that and she realized that when he was actually relaxed, he was a very attractive man. She found herself briefly jealous that he played for the other team.

"I thought Ranger told you, to be honest." He rolled the R on Ranger's name and Steph felt herself get flustered. "Now that you two are getting closer, I thought it was time to come clean. It's still a very big secret that Ranger works hard to keep."

_Great, now even his nickname is sexy_, she thought hopelessly.

"Oh, you should hear his real name. Rrrrrricardo Carrrrrlos Manoso." Apparently Steph had thought louder than she wanted to, but she couldn't deny Hector. The man's name was almost as sexy as himself.

"Stop that! And no, he didn't tell me."

"Man is very good at keeping secrets," he acknowledged.

"Apparently so are you."

"And you, _bonita_. This security system will be quite the surprise for Ranger."

"Stop saying his name like that! I can't think when you do that. And this hopefully is a surprise for him, but I'm sure he already knows somehow."

"No, he is very distracted with _la fiesta_ and _familia_. He does not know I am helping you."

"Speaking of helping, Hector, what is going on? I said basic!"

He ran her through the essentials of the security system, and while she trusted that they certainly did have higher, more intense security systems that they offer, she knew that this was not basic. He assured her that Ranger would not be satisfied with a halfass system (well, he said that part in Spanish, but she got the gist) and then held up two things from her fingers.

"Fobs? For my apartment?"

He pressed a button on the fob and a key sprung out from the side of it, like a key to a car she had driven a few months prior.

"I will _lose_ that, Hector!"

"_Por que_? Why? You never lose boss's key."

"That's because I guard that thing with my life! That getting out would be a _huge_ security breach."

"Guard this one with your life now, too. Your life is his life. His life is yours. Same thing."

Same thing.

* * *

She took a deep breath, staring at herself in the mirror. She could do this.

Hector had left after she had showered and shaved and he had shown her how to use her new fancy security system. It was a bit of a headache, but she had notes for it, and she felt confident that eventually she'd get used to it. And the monthly surcharge for Rangeman. (She knew for a fact it was never as cheap as she was paying, so that helped ease the sting a bit.)

But now it was just her in her amazingly secure apartment, and all those nerves that she had commended herself for staving away earlier came back in a rush.

She officially loved the dress. It was so different than anything she had ever worn for a distraction; she couldn't help but love it. She hoped it elicited the same reaction out of Ranger.

A tight ruched top with spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline gave her cleavage that was actually elegant versus erotic, which was a nice change. The gathering of the fabric made her feel better about all the donuts that she ate that week, too. The skirt, flowing softly from just underneath her belly button looked deceivingly slim, with its layers and layers of silk. It hung gently down her thighs and it wasn't until she would hold it up and separate it that it became clear that it was much larger than appeared. She could hold it out as far as her arms could go and it would still drape distinctly. The dress ended just above her knees, yet somehow looked fancier than a typical cocktail dress. She felt like she was going to Rangeman prom.

Her makeup was done with heavy silver and gray eye makeup, and she forewent the suggestion of red lipstick to opt for a more favorable pale nude shade. Topped with a little gloss and she looked as if she had stepped out of a magazine. (That was the idea, anyway. She had copied instructions straight from Cosmopolitan.)

The dark eyes and hair contrasted nicely with the pale lips and skin. She didn't feel too done up, either. She topped it off with a new pair of strappy slingback heels, and did a little twirl in front of the mirror, watching the skirt flare up and out. She'd have to be careful with that.

She gave herself one last glance in the mirror before grabbing her small clutch and making her way to her newly fortified door. She was meeting Ranger there, as she had to go over things with the event planner ahead of time. He was traveling from Rangeman with all the other heads of the branches in a limo, with plenty of other valeted vehicles for the rest of the men.

The nerves in her stomach were starting to turn into excited butterflies. She couldn't wait for this night to start! Or better yet, to end it with Ranger.

The event planner was a nice woman, but she sure did talk a lot. At first, Steph was delighted that a woman was giving her so many compliments, but after a while it grew tiresome and she wanted to go see everyone that she could hear filing into the nearby room. The party itself didn't start until 8, but she could hear the distinct voice of who she now knew to be Julio, and she itched to go see Ranger.

Finally, her pleas were answered (or maybe her death glares at her assistant were working), and something had "come up" that needed the planner's immediate attention. Thank God.

Cocktail hour was underway and she definitely needed some liquid fortitude to make it through tonight. She checked her makeup one last time in a compact, before taking a deep breath and striding into the room.

_Wow_. That was the only thought capable of crossing Stephanie's mind. She didn't even know where to focus first. The walls had black drapery hanging down, which, given that it was such a large room, didn't serve to make it appear any smaller. Silver and black accents littered the room, with a silver tree in the back corner with black ornaments on it drawing her attention instantly. The whole place looked wonderful, with a sort of 'head table' set up for the Rangeman core team and heads of the offices, with smaller circular tables orbiting around it. To her immediate left when she walked in was a bar, and once she could convince her legs to move, that's where she would be headed.

If the setting alone wasn't enough to completely blow Stephanie's mind, the idea of so many fine looking men chatting and laughing and being relaxed did it.

There were only about thirty men milling about, but she knew more were on their way. She was unsurprised to see as much black as she did, but pleasantly delighted when a pop of color would catch her eye.

She rolled her eyes and let a grin take over her face as she heard a familiar wolf whistle sent her way. Lester.

His antics seemed to garner everyone's attention because soon, all eyes were on her, and she felt her face getting hot. Finally, Julio stepped out of the way (or was he forcibly moved?) and Ranger's gaze was upon her.

Her mouth went dry and her body went hot when he finally caught her eye. He looked undeniably good, so much so that Stephanie reconsidered having said any gender waitstaff was appropriate. Black button up, black slacks, and a silver skinny tie completely his outfit, but it was the silky hair that was always threatening to get in his eyes that had her licking her lips. She wanted to sprint right over and let her hands run through his hair forever. He hadn't even shaved that day, letting just the barest hints of scruff poke through and make him look dangerous and sexy and totally out of her league.

She met him in the middle of the room, both drawn to each other and unable or unwilling to stop what came natural to them.

"_Madre de dios,_" he breathed once he was standing right in front of her. He fought to keep his hands by his side, instead opting for his eyes to run all over her body, drinking her in, cataloging her every detail. "I don't even know if it's legal for a woman to look like you do right now."

"You gonna arrest me? Use your handcuffs?" She was indelibly proud of herself for being able to retort when all she wanted to do was trace the outline of his body with her tongue.

"Maybe later," he growled softly, his eyes still unable to focus on hers.

"We match," Steph pointed out.

"Lula," Ranger noted distractedly. "Dropped it off today."

He barely noticed when his hands moved of his own accord, running up and down Stephanie's arms, sending shivers and goosebumps everywhere.

Suddenly, Tank was by their sides, drinks in hand. He handed a glass of champagne to Stephanie with a look that told her to be careful with her alcohol intake, and gave a small glass of something dark to Ranger.

"To wake you up," Tank murmured to Ranger.

"Oh, I'm up," he said, still staring at Stephanie.

"Jesus Christ, the two of you. Why don't you start introducing Stephanie to the other men? Before they mess this whole place up by drooling everywhere." With that, Tank moved on to talk with more men, and Ranger took Stephanie's arm gently.

"You look sinful, Stephanie."

"Ooh, using the big name. Does that mean you're mad at me?"

"For wearing that dress in front of my men instead of just me? Maybe." He eased the sting with a beautiful smile and she found herself grinning back up at him, wanting him desperately to kiss her.

"The great Stephanie Plum," a voice that Stephanie was learning to hate interrupted them. "A pleasure to meet you, finally."

"And you, Julio." She knew she had somewhat surprised him by knowing who he was without looking, but she finally turned her eyes to him and shook his hand lightly.

He looked remarkably like Ranger but a few inches shorter and stockier. He was clearly older by a few years as well, with his hair threatening to go gray. Next to him was a smaller man, more similar in physique to Ranger, but still shared the same facial features and glossy, shiny hair.

"César, how nice to meet you as well."

His handshake was firmer than his brother's and he looked genuinely excited to meet her.

"It's great to meet you too, Miss Plum. I know Antonia is really looking forward to meeting you as well. She should be here any minute."

She admitted to being grateful for having another woman around, although she had never heard of this Antonia.

"She's the head of Operations in Miami, Babe," Ranger told her.

She was introduced to a lot of new people in a short period of time, although constantly reassured that she wouldn't have to remember anyone's names. Ranger stood by her side continuously, his hand a constant heat on her back. Occasionally she would catch his eye, and the look in it screamed of things he wanted to do to her. Things she _wanted_ him to do to her.

He did leave her for a brief minute to speak with a waiter, and Stephanie was surprised when she saw them readjusting the head table.

"Just wanted to make sure you were up there with me."

"It's for the heads of the branches and other important people, Ranger," she whispered fiercely. "I am neither!"

He looked deep in her eyes, forcing her to see the truth. "You are the most important person here, Stephanie. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

* * *

Eventually she met Antonia, who was incredibly striking with her Latina good looks and she must have been at least 5'11" without heels. She was sweet and kind and while a tiny part of her thought she might have some competition for Ranger, she was observant enough to see the looks that Antonia and César were giving each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.

"Are Antonia and César…together?" Stephanie asked Ranger quietly as she busied herself by straightening his tie and brushing her lips against his ear.

Ranger was actually a little taken aback.

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Well then they want to be," she laughed.

He wasn't convinced, and tried to study them more when the event planner came to Steph, telling her that it was time for dinner. Ranger made the announcement, then made a show of pulling Stephanie to the head table and waiting for her to sit first.

She rolled her eyes, but felt oddly happy with the gesture. She got to spend the whole evening right at his side, which she hadn't thought she'd get to do.

As salads were brought out and served and water was poured, Stephanie eyed Ranger's drink.

"What is that?"

"Babe?"

"It smells like…coffee."

"It's tequila."

"Are you sure?"

"It's Patron XO Café." His voice was thick with an accent and she found herself involuntarily heating up.

"Don't use that accent on me, mister. We're in public."

Ranger laughed a full-bodied laugh at that, surprising the rest of the table.

"_Hermano_, you drunk?" Julio called from his spot across the table.

"Drunk on love," César teased. That sobered Ranger up but didn't keep the smile off his face.

"Antonia, how long are you in town?"

Stephanie slapped Ranger under the table and he grabbed her hand, linking their fingers. She smiled up at him, her face so happy and hopeful and he knew César wasn't completely wrong. He was so in love with Stephanie.

* * *

"No, I think that's a baaaaad idea," she insisted. Dinner was over and now the crowd was boisterous, full of laughter and drinks. Ranger nudged the shot in front of Stephanie a little more.

"Just one, Babe. If you don't like it, you never have to see it again."

"Who are you and what have you done with my Ranger?"

"Your Ranger, huh?" The alcohol was loosening Ranger's lips, making him more prone to smile, laugh, and say what was on his mind. He wasn't anywhere near drunk, but he was feeling good. He was enjoying the night in so many different and unexpected ways, he never wanted it to end.

"Sounds like she's getting a bit more possessive, Bossman." Lester joined them at the bar with César and Julio. Lester and César had always been much closer than Ranger had been with any of them, with their close ages and flirtatious nature.

"Si, _senorita_, he is _our_ Carlos until you make an honest man out of him," Julio pointed out with a grin. While the man still could be brash enough to make Stephanie cringe, she was starting to like him. He was just protecting his big brother as best as he knew how.

"Carlos, huh?" She looked at him from under her eyelashes. Ranger made no move to refute his brothers or the name that tumbled off her lips; instead, he was looking at her like she was his next meal.

He knocked on the bar and held up 3 more fingers for the bartender, who promptly delivered three more shot glasses. He poured the Patron XO in them, motioning for his family to take them. Lester held his out first, intent on this being a toast.

"To Ranger."

Steph met his shot in the air. "To Carlos."

Ranger next. "To Stephanie."

Then César. "To Rangeman."

Finally, Julio. "To family."

Ranger didn't take his eyes off Stephanie as the liquid flowed down his throat. His lips tilted upwards as she squinched her own shut while throwing the alcohol back, and then as they eased open upon her realization that the liqueur was smooth and not at all as harsh as she had anticipated.

"Not bad," she conceded with a big smile. "But that doesn't mean that I should do more than one."

Ranger stared at her with a soft look in his eyes, before he disregarded his surroundings completely and leaned down to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

"Careful," Lester told the others, "Sometimes they'll just start making out for hours right in front of you."

Ranger pulled back, staring down at Stephanie, who had a goofy look on her face. She vaguely heard Lester lead the others away from the two of them.

"One is enough," he agreed.

"Just like one Ranger is all I'll ever need?" She could practically hear the alcohol working its way through her system, releasing inhibitions.

"Just like that," he murmured before leaning into her again, kissing her slowly and deeply. When he finally pulled back, he was pleased to notice that her breath was labored and her eyes unfocused. He might not share the physical symptoms, but he was just as affected.

"It's getting late," Steph verbalized. What she _wanted_ to say was, 'come back to my apartment right now and let me do wonderful things to you,' but what came out was, "I guess it's time for today's gift."

"Babe?" Ranger had honestly thought that the party had been today's gift. Hell, her wearing that dress was a gift unto itself. He had no idea that there was something _else_. He found himself ashamed that he was hoping against all hopes that she would slip a condom with a bow on it into his hands.

Without saying a word, she dangled a fob in front of him. He took it from her gently, questioningly.

"Is this for Rangeman?" Was she giving him _back_ his own key fob? Because that wasn't a gift that he was willing to accept. Yet, when he looked back up at her, she was biting her lip, looking like a sultry goddess, and shaking her head. No. Not for Rangeman.

"It's for my apartment," she said softly. She tugged his hands into hers, the fob tightly ensconced in their fingers. She pulled him closer, as he allowed himself to get tugged, and spoke in a light whisper. "The passcode is the day we met, followed by three stars. I know you have to go back to Rangeman with everyone, but maybe you could come by after?"

His mind was spinning. Key fobs. Passcodes. _Coming by after. _What was going on?

She pressed a kiss to his cheek before moving her mouth to his ear.

"I'll see you later, Carlos," she whispered with a sharp nibble on his lobe. And then she was gone.

* * *

It was a little past midnight when she heard the door being unlocked. After she heard it open and the swift press of the passcode, she stepped out the hallway, meeting his eyes across the room.

"Rangeman?"

It wasn't a question, despite being phrased like one, yet she answered anyway. "Yes." He knew who was responsible for this system.

"Babe." Like a prayer from his lips, her name fell into the room that was softly lit with candles and smelled like apples and spice.

"Ranger." She was still wearing the dress, and that would forever be his undoing.

He toed his shoes off, still looking deeply into her eyes.

"We're gonna do this," he acknowledged. There was no going back after tonight. There was no way they could ever go back to what they were.

"And it's gonna be good?" She asked, breathless.

"No," he shook his head, stalking towards her slowly, studying his prey. "It's going to be fucking amazing."


	22. December 21st

**A/N: Not as long as the last one, but still kind of lengthy. Thanks for not being mad about how long the last one was ;) Sorry today's is so late - Christmas festivities kept me away from a computer. Fa la la la la! Hope you like it, and I hope you're all ready for the weekend! Lord knows I am.**

**I'm sure you noticed that this story is now M. For Mature. Which means only one thing:::  
**

**SMUT AHEAD. Not super graphic or anything, but still - read at your own risk. Or pleasure. Or something. Or feel free to skip ahead. :D  
**

* * *

He instantly had her in his hands, pinning her to the wall, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. He didn't kiss her yet, wanting her to see how serious he was about this before embarking on what was bound to be the best journey they had experienced yet. Her eyes met his, blue on dark brown, and the intensity could've burned him. He made sure she watched him as he leaned in with painstaking slowness and then, there was nothing else except them.

She tasted sweeter than he remember, somehow. All the different flavors were mingling – mint, something robust, the taste of _forgiveness_ and damnation, all culminating together into something he couldn't get enough of. If she was surprised by the harshness of the kiss, she didn't show it. She met him back with fervor, her nails scratching his scalp and shoulders. She eventually broke the kiss with a gasp and he instantly moved to her neck. He placed open mouthed kisses all down her neck, hard and soft, his teeth scraped dangerously. Finally, he grasped her tightly and began to move to the bedroom.

The soft light continued there, with one singular candle on the bureau. He put her down, careful to let her slide down his body completely.

"Take it off." Silk over gravel, his voice belied just how much he wanted this. Wanted her.

She hesitated for just a moment before sliding the straps over her shoulders. The elasticity of the dress negated the need for a zipper, so she simply traded a hot look with him before letting it pool around her feet.

The lingerie she had chosen was much appreciated. It was simple upon first glance, but gave way to something much more elaborate. Simple black cotton faced him before he noticed the lace that covered it. Intricate flowers and vines twined around the places he most coveted, and as his hands slipped to her behind, he realized that there was no cotton there – just simple see-through lace, enticing him and delighting him.

He stepped closer to her, pulling her to him. He again, didn't kiss her, but their eyes just closed in the bliss of their bodies touching. They fit so perfectly, Ranger wanted to curse aloud. How had he given this up willingly before?

He lifted her bodily as that weighed heavily on his mind and deposited her on the bed, covering her body with his, resting between her thighs. She propped herself up on her elbows and as he deftly unclasped her bra, he leaned in to whisper the truth he could no longer deny.

"No one will ever want you more than I do."

And that was it. His words set the room on fire, lit her body, her nerves, her hair, her everything.

No more words happened as he divested her of all undergarments and kissed his way from one tender spot to another. She didn't want to break the atmosphere with her words, but instead opted to bite her lip to keep from begging, pleading, demanding that he do something more than plant those too sweet kisses all over her.

Her prayers were answered as he slid one finger into her and despite the biting lip, she moaned. Loudly.

A hot, wet kiss was placed on her neck as he added another and began to move them, faster and faster. It had been too long and Stephanie was well aware of how little she could handle. As she came apart, unable to withstand his perfect torture, he suddenly became without clothes.

He had had such great plans for tonight. He would take his time, make her come undone no less than three times before indulging himself, but seeing her like that, it was too much for Ranger. He couldn't even pretend to have control. He had spent years perfecting his control in front of Stephanie, but now? It was all out the window.

Her eyes finally opened, and it was with an almost feral look that she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him flush against her. She told him with her eyes how ready she was, how much she _needed_ this. And him.

He entered her with one swift stroke and in the back of his mind, he registered that he just might be bleeding on his back, from her nails. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her, growling as he tried to hold back. It was a combination of violence and tenderness, their joining. It was too fast to be sweet, but this wasn't just another fuck.

Her hands pressed him, held him as close to her as she could possibly get. He lifted his head, meeting her lips, swallowing moans that she hadn't even realized were coming out of her mouth. His hands were running over her frantically, pinching her nipples and digging into her hips. She bit his lip before she laved over it, soothing the wound.

He pulled back, dissatisfied with not being able to see her eyes. They met and in that dim light of the candle, he felt like they were moving from a maelstrom to the eye of the hurricane. With unvoiced acquiescence, he began to thrust earnestly as she clenched deep within her. He promised himself that he'd make up for it later, but he couldn't help himself. She met him with everything she had, their moans and gasps filled the air, permeating the silence.

One hard thrust and suddenly she was coming apart around him. As soon as he sensed that she was coming down, a well-placed hand between her legs had her screaming and he followed her, tumbling off that ledge, trembling and terrified.

Everything had changed.

* * *

She woke up slowly. She stretched her toes and reveled in the ache that spread throughout her body as her muscles rebelled.

She always was a rebel.

She could see the light filter in through her curtains, it was soft and glowy. It was still early in Trenton, New Jersey.

She wondered briefly what had woken her, when she finally tried to focus her eyes.

Ranger was propped on his elbow, tracing her body slowly, languidly. His fingers made a pattern down her forearm then back up, circling her shoulder, with the occasional brush against her jawline. He was looking at her like she was love. Like she was light. Like she was everything.

"Hi," she whispered. She didn't want to break the moment. She wanted to just…bask.

"Babe." He didn't smile, just gave her that same intense look that he always did.

"Always so serious," she murmured, her eyes closing as she fought against sleep.

"Not always," he pointed out, biting her shoulder gently. Oh, yes. He hadn't been all seriousness last night. Playful Ranger had made an appearance around 2 a.m., surprising and delighting her.

"Do you have to get to the office?" She asked, with her eyes still closed. She felt him move, and then felt the rumble of his speech reverberate through her.

"I'm off today," he told her, nuzzling her stomach, placing light kisses on a path only he seemed to know. His tongue traced a line between her breasts, and he took the thin scrap of lace from her bra in his mouth and tugged before letting it snap back on her. He didn't understand her desire to put on lingerie to sleep, but he could learn to get used to it. She looked devastating, even after such few hours of sleep.

"Oh yeah, now I 'member."

"What are you doing today?" His lips had made their way to her neck, spotting a particularly dark mark on her collarbone. He placed a gentle kiss on it, but couldn't bring himself to feel too bad.

"Sleep," she managed to get out, although she was becoming a lot less tired by the second. "Work later. Boss is a real hardass."

"Take the day off. Spend it with me."

"Done."

A soft laugh against her neck sent tingles shooting down her spine.

"You're a tough sell, Miss Plum."

"I could make it harder, if you want."

A quick press of his hips told her all she needed to know.

"I think it's hard enough," he whispered. The day could start in a few more hours, he supposed.

* * *

It was noon by the time they both had showered and gotten ready. Ranger could not remember the last time he had left a house at _noon_, but he rationalized it quickly. He certainly hadn't been _inactive_.

If last night was a huge step in his relationship with Stephanie, then today was a giant leap. He wasn't second guessing his decision, but he did worry as to what Stephanie would think. This wasn't going to be the fun and casual day he was pretty sure she thought she was getting into.

"Is this okay?"

Steph stepped out of her room, interrupting Ranger's musings. She was wearing dark blue jeans, tucked into knee high brown boots with a modest 3 inch heel, paired with a long cream cable knit sweater with a floppy cowl neck. She looked like French vanilla to Ranger, and just as sweet.

"You look great, Babe." He had packed a bag yesterday before coming to Stephanie's last night so he had his clothes with him. Blue jeans, a black "waffle" shirt, as Stephanie referred to them, and a black pea coat that concealed his weapons sufficiently made up his outfit for the day. The blue jeans were a pretty big concession for him, but he knew that he'd pay for it later if he were to show up in his traditional all-black ensemble.

"We're running a bit late Babe, so I hope drive-thru will suffice for lunch."

He took pleasure in the flush that spread across her cheeks. They had _started_ to get ready about two hours ago.

"Twist my arm, why don't you?" She teased.

Once they were in the car, McDonald's in hand, (Ranger insisted that if he got a salad and didn't think about it too much, it was pseudo healthy) Stephanie began to wonder what this was all about.

"So, are you going to tell me where we are going?"

She tried to phrase it as casually as she could, casting a sideways glance to the man behind the wheel. He was wearing his mirrored sunglasses to combat the glare that was glancing off the banks of snow piled next to the road, but unfortunately, it kept Stephanie from seeing what he was really feeling as well.

"My nephew died on December 20th." Stephanie couldn't help the clap of her hand to her mouth. _What_? Ranger actually turned to her and sent her a sardonic smile. "8 years ago, Babe. Not yesterday."

"Still…"

"Yeah. He was really young, only 6, and he contracted sepsis."

"I don't…" She felt almost ashamed admitting it aloud. "I don't know what that is," she whispered.

"It's an infection of the blood. Usually caused by another infection. It sets in very quickly and can be terminal." His voice had a clinical detachedness to it, one that she assumed he needed in order to talk about it. She hated that she had to be the one to make him speak on the topic.

"Julio…?" She thought Julio had mentioned having kids, but she wasn't sure.

"No, Babe. Celia. Her first born, Michael."

She remained silent, not knowing what to say. Finally, she said the only thing she could.

"I'm so sorry, Ranger."

"It's okay, Babe." He took a deep breath, not used to talking about it. "We come every year to his grave just to tell him Merry Christmas. My family does. It used to be an awful thing; everyone was sobbing, no one knew what to do. There were years I missed it when I was in the Rangers. Those were the worst years," he confided quietly.

She wanted to comfort him but didn't know how. Why was he bringing her? Wouldn't she stick out like a sore thumb? She didn't want to be responsible for any family tension, and she was pretty sure Julio thought she was just another piece of ass…

"It's better now." He cleared his throat. "The past few years have been…they've been good. Celia has two healthy, happy kids. We still go to the cemetery, but we tell him happier stories. There's a lot more laughter nowadays, and we go home after and have a big meal. It's a good time, Babe. A fun time. And I want to share it with you."

She digested that and he seemed to be okay with her silence as they grew closer and closer to Newark.

"I don't want to intrude upon a family thing," she finally admitted.

"I wouldn't have invited you if you were intruding."

She nodded, but still felt doubtful. She would never mention it, but she thought it entirely possible that his desire to spend the day with her clouded his judgment.

"Just wait and see, Babe. If you feel uncomfortable, we can leave." _Yeah right, cause I really am going to tell you in front of your family how awkward I feel, and then have you abandon them in their time of need to _take me home. "They'll be happy I brought you. I promise."

* * *

She could see the gathering of people in the cemetery from afar, and she felt the ball of anxiety tighten in her stomach. This was it. _This_ was somehow the situation where she met all of Ranger's family. Not ideal, to say the least.

"Carlos!" An older Hispanic woman bustled towards him, hindered by her large coat and scarf, as well as her heels.

Stephanie squeezed his arm before letting him go, wrapping her red pea coat tightly around her. This was it.

"Hi Mama." He allowed her to embrace him tightly, gently returning the favor.

"Oh! You brought company?" She didn't sound neither pleased nor displeased, just genuinely confused. Stephanie continued to linger behind, unsure if this would be as far as she went to the cemetery.

"It's Stephanie, Mama."

His mother clapped her hands to her mouth, an eerie echo of Stephanie's earlier actions in the car. She took this as her cue to step forward and apologize, especially as she noticed the woman's eyes tearing up.

"Mrs. Manoso, I-"

"I'm so glad he brought you!" The woman gasped out, before instantly taking Stephanie into her arms, holding her tight. Ranger turned to face Stephanie's shocked face, trying not to appear too smug.

"You are?"

Maria Manoso pulled back, holding Stephanie by the shoulders, tear tracks clear on her face.

"Of course I am! Today of all days, too – oh, Stephanie – I just…I'm so happy for you two. He needs someone. We all do. Thank you so much for coming."

"You're…welcome?" By the time she had gotten that out, Ranger's mother was calling over the others, yelling that Ranger and his _guest_ had arrived.

"You're late," Maria told Carlos with a cuff on the back of his head, to which he didn't flinch. "We were just about to leave. Why don't you go say your piece, and then we'll head out?"

Ranger nodded before turning to Steph.

"I'll be right back, Babe." With a kiss to her forehead, he stepped on the crunchy snow leading the way to the gravestone he could find in the dark.

She watched him go, shaking hands or hugging others as they trudged by. She was pleased to note Lester among the group that was walking towards her, yet slightly miffed at how Ranger seemed to leave out how there would be someone else in her corner as well.

Introductions occurred all around and Stephanie could feel her head spinning. Between last night and today, there were a lot of beautiful faces to contend with and remember.

She grinned when César wrapped her in a hug, only to be told to move over by Lester. Throughout the introductions and pleasantries, she tried to keep one eye on Ranger, who was standing over a gravestone, with one hand supporting himself on it and the other over his face.

"I'm glad he brought you." Celia's voice was firm, despite her red-rimmed eyes. She gave Stephanie a weak smile, but the sincerity shone through it. "He needs someone."

"That's what your mother said…"

"She's a smart woman. Gets it from me," she quipped with a wink.

Eventually Ranger returned, looking only slightly worse for wear. If he pulled Stephanie closer to him or held her hand just a little too tight, she wasn't going to say anything. After all this time of being what she needs, it felt good to be able to give back _something_ to him.

"Let's go eat," he told the group with bright eyes and red nose.

"Yeah, Steph gets hungry if she doesn't eat every three hours," Lester teased as the group made their way to the parking lot. Stephanie took this time to smack his chest as she walked by with Ranger.

"Oh yes, she'll get along just fine with this group," Maria commented lightly.

* * *

She sat around the table at Ranger's parents' house, feeling more than a little out of place. His mother, Maria, and father, Ricardo, were very dutiful hosts and seemed to pick up on her discomfort, and made every effort to include her in conversations.

There had to be almost twenty people milling around, more than half with names she didn't know. She tried to keep up, but it was just too much. She felt confident in knowing the basics – Ranger's parents, of course, and his siblings: Celia, Julio, César, and Marisol. The spouses and nieces and nephews is where it all kind of got murky.

Ranger's presence was apparently a rare one, so his attention was almost constantly divided. She looked at him across the room, and he looked so completely different than the Ranger she knew. Jeans made him appear relaxed, but this place, his home, is where he _became_ relaxed. He was talking to Marisol next to the mantle, with a three year old little girl propped on his hip, admiring his diamond stud. His eyes would occasionally drift back to her, his grin growing every time he saw her smiling at him.

Finally, the early dinner was served and Steph couldn't help but feel out of place. She was the only one there that was not related by blood or marriage.

"Do you have any plans for Christmas, Stephanie?" Maria asked politely. Several conversations died down and she felt very put on the spot.

"Um, I'm not sure yet. I think I'll probably end up at my parents' house, but it's all kind of up in the air currently." She didn't know how to tell them that if everything went according to plan, she'd be spending Christmas with their son.

"Stephanie decorated the Rangeman Trenton offices, Mama," César piped up. "They look amazing."

"You let her decorate your offices?" Celia sounded more than a little disbelieving, and Steph felt like she had to rush to defend herself.

"It's really not that much. Just a little lights and some garland, that's it."

"It looks beautiful," Ranger said quietly, putting his hand atop Stephanie's on the table. She could practically feel all eyes on their clasped fingers.

"That's not all she's done this year," Lester called from his spot down the table. "She gave us all stockings with treats in them. Ranger even gets a gift every day. Guess she likes him better than me."

"How could that _possibly_ be?" Marisol asked scathingly.

"Oh, really Stephanie?" Maria sounded genuinely interested. "What was his gift today?"

"Oh, um, I haven't actually given it to him." She was pretty sure she looked like a tomato at this point.

"Mama, it could be _personal_," Celia whispered loudly to her mother.

Stephanie looked at Ranger, wide-eyed. His own eyes sparkled with mirth. He was _enjoying_ this!

"No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just, ah, a bit silly."

"Silly? Now you _have_ to tell us, Steph!"

She was going to punch Lester _so hard_ later. But as it was, all eyes were still on her and she did feel pressured to say something. She got even redder – if that was possible, and looked down at her hands.

"A subscription to _Guns & Ammo_ magazine."

She had never heard Ranger laugh so freely in her entire life. His amusement, coupled with his relaxed state, led him to be much more open with his emotions, and he couldn't hold it in.

Stephanie had made a couple comments over the years and Ranger had encouraged it a few times, but despite what he had thought she previously believed, he did not subscribe to _Guns and Ammo_.

Ranger's laughter spurred on Lester's and soon the whole table was chuckling.

"I love it, Babe," he told her, before pressing a kiss to her temple. She relished the way she could feel his heartbeat and feel his cheek muscles move in joy. He was happy, which meant she was. Simple as that.


End file.
